


By Chance

by Yokaibytes



Category: South Park
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Slow Burn, So much fluff you're gonna get cavities, imp tweek, some angst but like it's not completely angst I promise, youth pastor craig
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-04-30 13:26:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 52,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14497956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yokaibytes/pseuds/Yokaibytes
Summary: Craig is a youth pastor working for the local church in South Park. A series of bad events have been plaguing the town, thought to be the result of demon activity. He hates the creatures more than the average person, on account of an incident in his past which made him vow to fight against the devil's offspring and purge them from the human world forever. However, that sentiment gets him into one hell of an adventure when he is called to help investigate the supposed source of the demonic activity with a group of other pastors. He's had the full intention of destroying any demon that may cross his path ever since he became a pastor, so why would this investigation result in anything different from that?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Craig is aged up in this AU to be a young adult. There are depictions of violence as well as religious themes present throughout the story also.
> 
>  
> 
> (As a disclaimer: I am not religious. If I've gotten anything incorrect regarding religion/religious activities, I apologize. I've taken a lot of liberties when it comes to depicting things like attending church and preaching, as well as other religious activities. Keep in mind this is a gay South Park fanfiction so if you're expecting a flawless depiction of the church and religion, you might be coming to the wrong place lol. But anyway, hope you enjoy the story!)

"Demons. Humanity has been plagued by them since the beginning of time. The spawn of Satan, the sons of evil. We have been fighting against God's enemy for as long as they've dared to step foot in the land of our Heavenly Father's creation," a monotone, yet passionate voice began. "How do we fight against the descendants of hell, you may ask? Faith. As long as the light of the savior shines down upon you and you open your hearts to salvation, Satan can have no power over you. We are God's children, and we will protect the land of his creation. We will not let the seeds of evil plant themselves and sew their roots of sin into our earth. Demons are very much real creatures, and they walk among us even now. They come in all shapes and sizes, and can seize the hearts of any heathen in seconds, using them for the will of the devil. They take our souls and corrupt them, turn them evil to bolster their ranks down in hell, preparing for the return of Satan to the mortal world so they can overthrow everything God has worked so hard to create. Are we going to let that happen?"

"No!" A crowd of people shouted.

"Yes, very good. It is my duty as the youth pastor of this fine church to teach the newer generations the way of our father above. That does not mean I should be the only teacher of God's will. Have your faith. Spread the light of heaven and keep the devil at bay." The man revealed to be a youth pastor cleared his throat before continuing. "I know we have had tough times. It's just me looking over the church while the others are away, trying to help us. But God help me, I will do everything in my power to keep the light of heaven shining upon this mountain town. So remember, my friends, open your hearts to salvation and harm shall not come to you. That concludes my preachings for today. I would like to have a short moment of prayer before everyone is dismissed, so please pray with me now."

People rose from their seats, clasping their hands together as the pastor continued.

"Heavenly Father above, thank you for another blessed day. Please continue to look after and protect us, your humble children, and this town. Please keep our pastor safe and have him return to us with good news soon. God bless, amen."

"Amen," the crowd repeated.

"Thank you all for listening today. God bless you." The youth pastor gave a small bow as the crowd clapped. He stepped away from his podium, giving a gruff cough and pulling out a bottle of water. The pastor was not used to having to preach, but he was the only church official on duty at the moment. He was crowded with people, which had become a common occurrence since he started having to lead the church in the absence of the main pastor.

"Thank you for another wonderful sermon, Pastor Craig. You're doing a fantastic job. I think you're really sparking faith in us, especially the young ones. It's wonderful to see someone so young invest himself in his faith," an older woman complimented.

"Thank you ma'am, but I am only doing as God commands me. I am but a speaker for his will," he replied.

"So humble too!"

  
The crowd eventually dispersed and the church was left empty and quiet, except for Craig. He sat down in the front pew and sighed, rubbing his eyes as he continued drinking his water. Quite frankly, he was at his wits end. The town had been plagued with misfortune as of recent. It was blamed on the devil and his evils, but the townspeople didn't know much of what was actually happening. There was actual demon activity in the area, causing sin and havoc and in some cases, even death. Demons were actual, living creatures that came to cause harm from hell, not just mythical concepts or evil spirits, which is how most people interpret them. They're very much real and have physical forms. The main pastor of Craig's church had gone to find the source and try to stop it, leaving Craig in charge of the church and its followers in the meantime.

"I'm not cut out for this..." He leaned back in the pew and sighed. Truth be told, he wasn't extremely passionate about religion and all that. The reason he does what he does was because he'd lost someone important to him, his younger sister. She had been killed by a demon around four years ago. He decided that the way to get revenge was to educate and prepare the youth to fight back, so what happened to him could be prevented for others.

Craig ran a hand through his smooth, black hair and pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. He wasn't much of a smoker, but he needed some stress relief. He'd been staying up late recently, trying in his own way to find out a way to stop the demons plaguing his town. He wasn't having much luck, as all he had were books to read. Call it a crime to keep cigarettes in your pastor uniform, Craig didn't care much.

He sat there for a while, eventually getting up and deciding to get his mind off things by tidying up the church. He was in the process of making sure all the bibles were neatly put away in the pews when his phone buzzed. Taking it out of his pocket, he saw it was the head pastor. He quickly answered it.

"Hello? How is everything, sir?"

"Hello, Craig. I think we've found out where the demons are coming from. Some sort of portal, in an abandoned house in the woods. It seems to be heavily guarded and the other pastors and I may not be enough to take all of them down. We need you to come as reinforcement."

"R-Really?" He felt a pang of excitement and nervousness in his heart. He was never allowed to go on any exorcist raids because he was so young and inexperienced. He'd wanted to kick demon ass for so long, and now it seemed he was finally getting the chance to.

"Yes. I assume you are at the church right now?"

"Yes sir, I just finished up a sermon about half an hour ago. The people are keeping their faith."

"That's good. I will need you to finish up there and head our way. Please bring our... supplies. I'll text you the address."

"Understood. I will be there soon."

"God bless you."

"To you as well."

The call ended and Craig immediately went and gathered the 'supplies', as they were referred to. It was the things they used to fight demons, such as holy water and sage, along with blessed weapons and other things developed to cause harm to the unholy. He locked up the church and then went on his way to the place the pastor had told him to go.

 

It was about an hour's drive, but Craig arrived at a motel. His pastor along with a few other religious looking figures were outside and they looked to be deep in conversation. He got out of his car and greeted them.

"Ah, Craig, welcome. Did you bring the supplies?" his pastor greeted.

"Yessir."

"Great." He turned to the other men. "This is Craig, the youth pastor of my church."

"Such a young thing he is," an older looking gentleman commented.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he replied respectfully.

"You as well. It's always nice to see young people taking an interest in religion. Far too many of the youth today lack faith, it's a shame."

"It sure is." Craig tapped his foot. "So.. I've brought the supplies. What is the plan?"

"We will be raiding the suspected hideout of the portal to hell tonight, when night falls."

"Isn't that when demons are at their most powerful?"

"Yes, but it's when they're active and less will be around the hideout. They will instead be scattered more and easier to defeat."

"Ah... so what is the goal?"

"Exorcise as many of the bastards as possible and destroy the portal," the third man spoke for the first time. He had a gruff voice.

"Precisely. For now we must prepare. Let's get everything in the motel room."

"Alright then."

Craig and the other pastors brought in all the various religious items from his car and entered the room. There was already quite a bit of stuff present. They seemed to be preparing for a rather large fight. Craig wondered just what kind of scale this fight would be on if they needed him as well as all these supplies.

 

The group spent the rest of the time preparing for the evening ahead before setting out towards the suspected demon hideout. They all recited holy scripture to protect themselves and armed themselves with their various weapons.

They took two of their four cars to the scene.

"Stop the car here. We'll have to go on foot so we aren't as easily detected."

Both Craig and the other driver pulled their cars over and everyone got out.

"I'll lead the way. Everyone be as quiet as possible. Keep your eyes and ears open, they could be anywhere around here," Craig's pastor announced.

"Are you sure, Father Dixon? Your health is not the best," the oldest of the bunch, whose name was earlier revealed to Craig to be Thomas questioned.

"Yes. I know the layout of this area the best. If things go south, just head back to the car. Get out of here so we can regroup. If they kill us all, everywhere around here is doomed."

"God rest our souls."

Craig swallowed hard and nodded, gripping the holy dagger he had been given. The group set off into the night without another word.

  
"There it is.." Father Dixon whispered as the form of a house came into view in the distance. There were lights coming from it. Everyone readied their weapons and they crept closer.

"I don't see anyone.. or anything..." Craig whispered, his eyes scanning the area for any signs of movement.

"Me neither. This is strange..."

"Maybe they're all out trying to do Satan's work."

"Potentially. Let's just check it out and destroy the portal if it is the right place. If the demons have no way of getting back home, they will be easy to defeat since their main source of power comes from hell."

They got to the house, which looked like it was supposed to be abandoned. It was very deteriorated, with broken windows and rotting wood. The paint had long been peeled off with time. Father Dixon peered in through the window.

"There's definitely something in there... that's not human. Potentially multiple entities. Get ready." He slowly opened the door to the house, hoping to sneak inside and get the drop on whoever or whatever was in there. Unfortunately, because of the terrible condition of the house, the door creaked loudly, alerting whatever was inside to their presence. A deep growl came from inside, seeming to say something in another language. The pastors froze, listening as more voices began to speak up.

 _Uh oh_.


	2. Chapter 2

"There are humans here," a voice sounded out in English. Suddenly, there were shrieks coming from inside the house and four demons revealed themselves.

"Exorcists!" one of the demons shrieked. "They've found us!"

"Kill them all!" a much larger, horrific looking creature growled.

The fight began. The demons launched themselves at the men, who began fighting back with their holy weapons.

Craig doused one of the demons in holy water. It shrieked as smoke emitted from its body, seeming weakened by it. Father Dixon began hastily yelling something in Latin at the creature, causing it to continue shrieking and writhing on the ground.

"In the name of God, I banish you, demon, servant of evil, back to hell where you came from!" he shouted. The demon collapsed and a dark smoke poured out of its mouth and eyes and dissipated into the air, the body falling limp. It quickly turned to ash.

This seemed to anger the demons more, and they began fighting back harder. One clawed the dagger out of Craig's hand and lunged for him, but was stopped by Father Dixon who shot at the creature with a gun containing blessed bullets. It shrunk back and let out a hiss.

"You damn humans...! I'll tear you to shreds!" it shouted as the bullet wounds quickly vanished.

"Our weapons aren't as efficient as they used to be..." Thomas commented. He'd been banged up pretty bad, with wounds on his face and hands.

"We can still win. We have God on our side," Father Dixon growled, reloading his pistol.

The fight raged on, it becoming evident that they were pretty evenly matched. The pastors were starting to weaken, however, as they accumulated more wounds whereas the demons had very remarkable healing abilities, probably due to being so close to a portal to hell. In the middle of the fight, another demon entered through the portal, pausing as it watched the scene taking place. It was a smaller demon, much more frail and lithe looking.

"Oh, Satan..!" it exclaimed.

"You there! Imp! Summon reinforcements immediately!" the supposed leader of the band ordered. "If we kill them, this area will succumb to our father."

"R-Right..!" the demon exclaimed, pulling out a horn shaped object from a messenger bag it was carrying.

"Don't let it blow that horn!" Father Dixon shouted, aiming his gun at the imp. He fired shots at it which startled the creature, causing it to start scrambling all over the place. A bullet managed to strike it in the wing and it let out a cry. Craig charged at it but was stopped by one of the bigger demons, which snatched him and slammed him against a wall. He let out a wheeze as the wind was knocked out of him. The demon wrapped its giant claws around his throat and began strangling him, giving a grin full of hatred as Craig gasped and wheezed for air, his limbs flailing around helplessly.

However, he was suddenly dropped when a giant explosion went off, scattering what looked like steam everywhere. He believed it to be a holy water flashbang of sorts. All the demons let out shrieks and wails as the vapor burned their unholy flesh. The pastors went on the offensive, attacking the unholy monsters. Craig charged after the small demon with the horn as it writhed around on the ground in pain. He smashed the horn instrument under his boot and the demon let out a cry, swinging its claws around wildly and managing to give Craig a few bad gashes in his legs. He stumbled back and the demon got to its feet, shrieking as it jumped onto Craig and attacked him in a similar fashion to how an angry cat would. Craig grabbed the creature by one of its horns and peeled it off of him, slamming it to the ground with a sickening thud.

"Retreat!" one of the other demons called. There was a stampede and Craig quickly jumped to the side of the room as the large, demonic creatures fled the scene. He watched as the imp he'd knocked to the ground was trampled, it letting out a pained wail before going still and silent. He could hear the distinct sound of bones snapping, which sent chills through him. They truly were evil creatures if they did this to their own kind.

The mist of holy water eventually cleared, and all was silent. The house had been torn to shreds, blood splattered on the floors and walls along with scorch marks, claw marks, and broken glass adorning the space.

"Everyone okay..?" Thomas called.

"I'm pretty banged up, but I'm okay," the other pastor Craig did not know answered.

"I'm alright," Craig sighed, spitting out blood that had accumulated in his mouth. "Father Dixon?"

No fourth voice answered. They searched the place, but they couldn't find the man anywhere.

"Do you think he ran away..?"

"Maybe... he could've set off the flashbang and taken off, thinking we would do the same," Craig answered as he examined the room. There was no trace of his pastor anywhere. The portal, which looked like nothing more than a charred hole in the wall in the far side of the room, collapsed. "Good riddance," he spat.

He turned his attention to the trampled demon sprawled out on the floor. It had very messy blonde hair, and two small reddish horns protruding from its forehead. It had two bat-like wings of a similar hue, one of which looked torn while the other was bent at an angle that anyone could see was not natural. It had sharp nails that resembled claws, which were now ridden with Craig's blood. It's lower half was completely covered in this short, reddish fur and its legs were like that of an animal, digitigrade in nature. It had a wiry, spaded demon tail and some sort of hoof-claw hybrid for feet. The rest, however, looked human. It wore a grey-green shirt and had pale skin. It was very lithe and skinny looking as well. Craig recalled one of the demons referring to it as an imp, which are low level demons who don't pose much threat to humanity other than causing mischief, if he recalled correctly. He pitied the creature in a way, as it had become a casualty completely through bad timing. But it was still the spawn of Satan nonetheless, so Craig couldn't help but feel a little disgust when looking at the thing.

"Why hasn't it turned to ash yet?" one of the pastors asked. "It's dead, isn't it?"

"Not all of them do," the other replied. "The low levels are so expendable that Lucifer may not even care to bring their bodies back to hell when they die."

"Hm.." Craig cautiously walked over to it, kneeling beside it and studying it. He froze when he noticed the faint rise and fall of its back, as it was sprawled out on its stomach. "Shit.. it's still alive. Barely." He poked it, but it did not respond. "It's unconscious."

"Kill it before it has the chance to escape and regroup!"

Craig ignored him, continuing to study the creature. He cleared his throat. "Our weapons are growing ineffective against them." He looked up to the two pastors who kept their distance from the creature, with their weapons ready. "What if we used this one for study?"

"For study?!" the pastor whose name he did not know exclaimed.

"Capturing demons... it's extremely dangerous. But it is how we learned about them and how to fight them. I don't think I'd take that risk though, even with this low level one. It did a number on you and it wasn't even prepared to fight," Thomas added.

"...I want to study it. I'm going to stop these devils from hurting anyone." He picked up the creature, which limply dangled in his arms. "Let's get going before it regains consciousness. I have bindings in my car."

"Right... Pastor Craig. I think I can speak for the both of us when I say that this isn't a good idea. You are too young, too inexperienced. You aren't authorized for this."

Craig narrowed his eyes. "Father Dixon will be there too. The two of us can handle an imp," he replied cooly, walking past them and out of the house. He had his mind set on this. He would chain the creature up and confine it in the basement of the church, where it would not be able to escape. He could then study it and experiment on it as much as he wanted. He was going to find a way to expel these creatures from this realm once and for all.

He continued his trek to the car, the other pastors following behind him. He could hear them talking, but they were out of earshot and he couldn't make out what they were saying. He looked down at the creature in his arms. It was very human. This made him a little uncomfortable. It was a bit shorter than Craig and very light, which made it easy to carry bridal-style in his arms. It was too dark for him to be able to make out any of its facial features, though.

Arriving back at his car, he noticed that Dixon's car was nowhere to be seen. "He must've fled..." He narrowed his eyes, feeling a bit of a sense of betrayal as the man he looked up to had turned tail and ran, leaving the rest of them for dead. "I'm sure he thought we were going to do the same and follow after him," he reassured himself. The other pastors arrived shortly after.

"Where are you going to put that thing? I am not sitting in the back seat with it."

"Hm.." Craig popped open his trunk and tied the creature up before depositing it into the trunk and closing the lid. "This car has holy scripture engraved into it. Even if it wakes up, it can't escape." Craig had blessed and demon-proofed pretty much all of his possessions after he lost his sister so that the demons could not get him too.

The pastors looked at each other with doubt in their eyes, but said nothing. They drove back to the motel silently, unable to talk about the events that had just taken place. Unfortunately for them, Father Dixon was nowhere to be found when they arrived.

"Where is he..?"

"I'll try to call him." Craig pulled out his phone and called back the number Dixon had used to call him earlier. It rang for a while before hanging up, stating that the number's voicemail was not set up.

"Anything?"

"Nope. The hell.." Craig put his phone away and folded his arms.

"Maybe he went back to his church?" the younger pastor wondered hopefully.

"Potentially... its strange he didn't answer his phone though. You'd think he'd check to make sure we got out of there in one piece," the Thomas replied, doubtful.

"Well, I suppose I can check when I head back there. I can let you know if he's there. He might've lost his phone in the chaos."

They exchanged phone numbers and Craig went on his way. It was very late when he arrived back to the church. There were no other cars around, suggesting Father Dixon was not there. Parking his car and stepping out, he armed himself with a vial of holy water as he approached the trunk of the car.


	3. Chapter 3

The young pastor stood silently, listening for any sign the demon had regained consciousness. All was quiet. He popped open the trunk and peered inside. The creature was still out cold. It looked pitiful; tied up, broken and bloody. He looked around to make sure no one was around before extracting the hellspawn from the trunk and taking it inside the church. He walked into the back room and then down into the basement, which had been a place built for the sole purpose of containing evil, or to hide from evil. Nothing unholy could get in or out once it was sealed.

Craig got to work immediately. He shackled up the creature at the wrists, chaining it to the floor. He placed weights around its feet and blindfolded it before drawing a holy sigil around the demon. For extra measure, he also lined the room with salt and had sage and holy water ready. Now, all he could do was wait. It never stirred that evening, so Craig decided to leave it and check on it again later, returning home to clean himself up as he was still bruised and bloodied. It would be concerning if he remained at the church and tried to give a sermon like that the next day. He was attending to listeners almost daily now, since things were so bad.

Looking over himself in the mirror, his face and hands were covered in scratches from the imp. They were almost like paper cuts, stinging when he showered. He was also covered in bruises, but nothing seemed to be too serious. He treated his wounds and bandaged what he could. Most of his wounds would be hidden under his uniform anyway, thankfully. He would simply say his cat, which he did not have, had attacked him if anyone questioned the ones that weren't. Believable enough.

He collapsed on his bed and managed to get a few hours of sleep before his alarm clock shrieked, waking him up. He groaned and slammed his fist down on it to stop the irritating noise, sitting up with a sigh. Another night with hardly any sleep, and another full day ahead of him. He now had a demon to check on, however, so he convinced himself to crawl out of bed and get ready for church. _Curse Father Dixon for making Monday mornings one of the times people could come in and pray or confess their sins to the pastors on duty_. Maybe he would be there today and Craig could finally catch a break.

Arriving at the church, he unlocked it and stepped inside. All seemed normal and as he had left it.

"Father Dixon? Are you here?" he called. No answer. He poked his head in his office but there was not a soul around. "Where the hell is he?"

Craig tried calling him again to no avail. He sighed and looked at his watch. It was almost time for the church to open to the public, so he couldn't go check on the demon. He frowned in disappointment before tiding up the church and preparing for the day.

-

  
And a long day it was. He could barely keep himself awake. Visiting hours finally ended and he closed up the church. It was late in the afternoon, and he decided to take a nap in the pews. He was too tired to do anything else. It wasn't the first time he'd slept in there, he found himself taking naps around the church pretty frequently these days because he couldn't be bothered to drive home first.

Moonlight was shining in through the painted glass windows as the youth pastor finally stirred. He sat up and gave a yawn, rubbing his eyes and standing up. Sleeping on the pews always made his back ache but he desperately needed the rest. It was a sacrifice he was willing to make when he was that exhausted. He shuffled into the back room and headed down to the basement. Flicking on the light, he was startled to see a head jerk up and look around.

"Hello? Who's there?" a voice weakly called. It sounded stressed.

Craig approached the demon quietly as it swiveled its head around. The chains clinked against the stone floor as it shifted about.

"I-I heard the click... I can smell... a human..." it mumbled to itself. It turned its head directly towards Craig, which took him by surprise. "I know.. you're there.."

Craig cleared his throat before speaking. "Keen senses." He pulled out a notebook and began jotting notes. The demon weakly tugged against the chains.

"Who are you? Where am I?" The imp sniffed the air. "You're.. one of the humans.. from the..." It seemed to twitch and let out sharp noise before continuing. "..The house.."

"Enough questions, demon. It does not matter who I am or where you are. You will do as I say because I own you now," Craig informed it bluntly. This seemed to cause it distress, as it began to tug at the chains with more strength.

"No.. no... let me go.."

"Not going to happen. Get comfortable, you servant of evil. This is your new home." Craig closed his notebook and set it down. It was now time for him to start conducting tests on the creature. He noted it had pointed ears and some fang-like teeth; features he had not noticed the night before.

"Let me go!" it repeated, standing to its feet. _Or hooves, rather?_ The chains prevented it from standing up straight, but it continued tugging against them. Craig frowned and grabbed a vial of holy water, sprinkling some on the creature. It's skin sizzled and smoked, and it out a pained hiss and fell to its knees.

"Quiet." He had made the holy water himself. Noting its potency, he grabbed his notebook once more and scribbled some notes down.

"Let me go, let me go!" it continued to shout, its tail lashing back and forth in a panic as it continued to pull against the chains like a trapped animal. It tried to spread its wings, but one was shot through and the other was horrifically broken. It whimpered and straightened the broken wing. Craig cringed as he heard the bones snap and pop back into place. The imp let out a pained breath and relaxed the wing.

"You fixed it."

"Ngh..." the demon whined. It was exhausted and in a lot of pain, probably. Not that it mattered what it felt, of course.

"Fascinating. You demons have very advanced regenerative properties, don't you? I'll have to see if there's a way to halt that." He shortened the restraints on the demon until it's arms were unable to move. It was stuck on its knees, tugging and squirming to break free. "You'll be my guinea pig. Well, my second one."

"I'm an imp..."

"What?"

"I'm an imp, not a pig..." the demon mumbled. It didn't understand the phrase. It amused Craig slightly, but he proceeded with his experiments mercilessly.

Using the various weapons and supplies he had, he tested their effects upon the demon. At first, it had screeched and wailed, writhing in pain with every experiment, but it soon wore itself out. It wailed until it could not wail any longer. Craig had obtained a lot of useful data on the weapons as well as the regenerative properties of demons. He was quite pleased as he wrote down his findings in his notebook. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed that the blindfold had become damp around where the imp's eyes would be, granted it had ones like a person.

Curious, the raven-haired pastor pulled off the cloth. The demon was sitting there with its eyes squeezed shut, tears falling from them. Noticing the blindfold was off, it opened its eyes, squinting as they adjusted to the harsh artificial light of the basement before looking up at Craig. What he saw made his stomach drop.

The demon had soft blue-green eyes that seemed to gaze into his soul. The other demons he had encountered all had soulless, evil eyes, but these were different. They looked human. They felt human too; full of sorrow, pain, fear, and anger. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Craig looked away.

"So demons can cry," he commented.

"You... why..?" it croaked.

Craig looked back to the imp, studying the pitiful creature. It's frail body was covered in even more wounds than before.

"You are the spawn of the devil. Pure evil. A demon."

It was quiet for some time as it stared up at him intensely. Craig figured it had nothing else to say, or was too weak to talk, so he shrugged and walked away. Just as he was at the entrance to the basement, it spoke again, its voice no stronger than a hoarse whisper.

"I may.. be a demon... but you... you are a monster."

The image of its wounded body and sorrowful eyes flashed into Craig's mind for a moment before he brushed it off.

"God hath no mercy for the spawn of Satan," he replied bluntly, shutting the basement door and sealing it.


	4. Chapter 4

The imp refused to talk for several days after that. Craig continued to run tests on it, and it continued to try to escape, but it refused to talk no matter how much holy water he poured on it or how much holy scripture he recited to it. It's eyes had changed from those of sorrow to those of resentment. Of hurt. Craig found he could not look the creature in the eyes without feeling a pit form in his stomach. It must be some sort of demonic mind trick the creature was using to get him to pity it. He knew it was purposefully not speaking to him. He had heard it mumbling and even singing to itself before he entered the room on multiple occasions now.

  
One day, he went to check on the creature once again. It was sat with its back towards him. It's wings had been healing, he noted. Slowly, but still healing. It did not move as he approached it. Wondering if it was asleep, or dead, he lightly nudged it with the toe of his boot. The creature let out a shriek and whipped around, baring its teeth and spreading open its wings threateningly.

"Enough! Enough!" it shouted. "Let me go! Have you not inflicted enough pain?! I am just a lowly imp, one of the lowest classes of demon in existence! I am nothing but a servant! You will not accomplish anything by doing this to me!"

Craig backed away in surprise by the sudden outburst. The demon continued its rant.

"I didn't fucking ask for this! I only follow orders! I don't know anything! So just... let me go... let me go..." It hung its head down low. It's body was shaking and twitching sporadically. "Just let me go, or kill me." There was a mix of rage, desperation, and pain in its voice as it spoke. It was breathing hard, refusing to look up at Craig. It's body was tense, like it was expecting the pastor to do something to him.

Craig stared at it silently. He felt conflicted. It was a demon, a creature from hell and made of nothing but sin and evil, and he hated it. But he couldn't dismiss the guilt he felt when he looked at it or when it spoke. He let out a sigh. He did not feel like doing any experiments that evening, so he left without a word.

  
The next day, Craig decided he was going to try to conduct research a different way. He might be able to get some conversation out of it if he promised not to use any more torture. He opened the door to the basement and froze when he saw the shackles that held the demon were in pieces on the ground and there was no imp in sight.

_There was no way the thing could've escaped. I trapped it perfectly. My eyes have to be playing tricks on me, they just have to,_ he thought frantically. He approached the broken shackles whilst looking around the room in a panic. Reaching out to touch them, he was taken by surprise when the demon dropped down from the ceiling and onto him with a shriek, knocking him to the ground before bolting for the door. The damn thing had been waiting for him to come and open the door! Craig stumbled to his feet and chased after it. He could not let it escape.

He did have a few advantages over the creature; it was weak and wounded, so it could not move as fast as the pastor. He also knew the layout of the church, and it did not. He ran for the front entrance, the only way the demon could get out, and blocked it. He was panting, looking around frantically to see where it was.

"Come out, you little bastard. You can't escape. This whole church is blessed and surrounded by salt and sigils. Without me, nothing can get in or out."

"Then you're just going to have to let me out!" it barked, launching itself at Craig from one of the pews. He took out a spray bottle full of holy water and sprayed it at the imp, who shrieked and and clutched its face as its skin made a sizzling noise. It scowled and backed away, looking for another way out.

"It's over. This door is the only way in or out and you can't open it."

The imp growled and spread its wings. Jumping up, it became airborne. It was evident that its wings were still severely damaged and it would not be able to maintain flight so it quickly pushed off a window ledge and flapped up into the maze of rafters that made up the ceiling of the church, disappearing among the wooden beams.

Craig pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in frustration. There was an attic space in the church that connected up to the rafters, but even through there he had no way of getting to where the imp had hidden itself without risking falling to his death. The thing also had access to the space between the ceiling and the roof from there, so Craig was beat. He stormed off into the office and slammed the door, starting the process of trying to figure out how to lure the creature out.


	5. Chapter 5

He started by leaving a dead cat out. He'd found the poor thing hit by a car on the road, already perished. Some demons loved dead things; he had no idea what imps liked, so he was just making guesses. The imp made no appearance, and all that ended up happening was that the church smelled foul for a few days. He told the attendees that some bird or squirrel must've gotten stuck somewhere in the roof and died.

During his sermons, he would catch the demon scuttling about through the rafters in the corner of his eye. It was watching him preach. No one else seemed to notice it, though.

He tried threatening it, telling it that the longer it stayed up there, the more experiments he would do on it when he caught it, and assured it that he would catch it one day. He also threatened to never let it leave. All he got in response was a bible getting thrown from the ceiling at him that just barely missed hitting him in the face.

He tried burning sage as well as flooding the church with a mist of holy water. He could hear its skin sizzling. But still. Absolutely. Nothing.

He tried a ladder, climbing up to the ceiling where he could see the creature holed up, but he had no way of capturing it. It just stared at him resentfully. It seemed to taunt him, making itself visible but just out of his reach.

Craig caught it watching him from the rafters on many occasions. Whether he was cleaning, preaching, reading, writing, etc., it would watch him until he looked at it, then it would hide itself again. He had given up trying to catch it when the days turned into weeks. If it wanted to live up in the ceiling, so be it. It couldn't escape and it hadn't hurt anyone or even been seen by anyone. It would give up eventually. It was a battle of will at this point.

At some points, he even forgot the demon was there at all. When all was quiet, he'd be able to hear its nails on the wood as it scampered about, or hear it quietly talking to itself when it thought no one was around. He'd gotten so used to its presence that he didn't mind it anymore. It was kind of like a stray cat that didn't want to be caught. Or a rat you could always hear but never locate.

 

One day, Craig went up to fetch a book from the attic for an upcoming youth activity and found the demon curled up in a ball, fast asleep on the wooden floor. It did not stir despite Craig making a small gasp of surprise. He watched it curiously.

The demon's chest lightly rose and fell as it slept. It was curled up in the fetal position, head resting on one of its hands and its tail curled around itself. One of its wings was draped over itself like a blanket. The pastor could even hear the thing's quiet breathing as it snoozed peacefully. This was the perfect chance to recapture it. The chance he had been waiting for. And yet, he couldn't find it in him to do anything other than quietly sit down and lean against the wall. He studied it.

The creature seemed to possess some sort of twitch, even in its sleep. He realized just how much he didn't know about it even after it being in the church all this time. He knew it was a demon, an imp at that, and it was upset about being captured and tortured, but other than that he knew absolutely nothing. He'd neglected to think of the creature as an individual this whole time. He'd only seen it as a demon; an evil creature, perhaps a manifestation of the thing that took his sister. But, it was different from the other demons the pastor had encountered before. It was much more human. It looked like a demon, but it didn't give off the same evil energy that the big, monstrous creatures he'd met did.

Craig studied its appearance. It had horns, and wings, animal legs and a tail, but he couldn't get the human feel it had out of his head. He gazed at its sleeping face. It wasn't even an 'it', it was a 'he.' The demon was nothing more than a sleeping boy with horns and wings and shit. He wasn't just a thing at all. He felt even more guilt for everything he'd put him through as he came to this realization. Craig even began to wonder if the demon he'd captured was even really evil at all. He easily could've attacked him or anyone else inside the church this whole time to escape, but he never did.

At some point, he scooted closer to the creature. There was warm light filtering through the attic window onto the floor; it felt nice. No wonder the demon had taken a snooze up here. He didn't stir at all as Craig approached him. He even managed to get right next to him, looking over his face.

He had soft, pale skin and blonde eyelashes. A few freckles dotted his face. He was rather skeletal but had soft, delicate features. He looked innocent as he slept with one of his fangs sticking out over his lip. Craig wondered if demons ever even slept in hell. Did they need sleep? One of the things that really caught his attention though was his crazy blonde hair. It was wild, yet soft looking. He had the overwhelming desire to touch it. If the demon hadn't woke up this whole time, why would it now?

Craig gingerly reached out and gently poked a tuft of the demon's hair. The demon didn't stir at all. He began lightly stroking it. It really was soft he noted. Feeling daring, he went to touch his face, but the second his finger came into contact with his cheek, the blonde haired imp stirred, flicking open his eyes. He immediately gasped and sprung up, backing away like he was about to turn tail and disappear back into the rafters.

"Wait..!" Craig called after him. "Wait, please."

The demon stared at him. He didn't run, but said nothing.

"Listen... I know we've gotten off on the wrong foot." The imp scowled at him, as if saying 'no shit, Sherlock'. "I'm not going to hurt you. I couldn't even if I wanted to, I have nothing on me." He held up his hands. "And I'm not lying. Lying is a sin."

"What.. do you want..?" the imp asked quietly, his tail flicking back and forth with intrigue and nervousness. That was the first time Craig had heard him speak clearly in months. He'd forgotten what his voice sounded like.

"I... I just want to talk. That's all." Craig lowered his hands and folded them in his lap. "I want to understand. That's why I captured you in the first place."

"You tortured me. What is there to understand from that? The sound of my screams?" he replied, growing a little irritated.

"...I was learning how weapons worked on demons."

"They're _weapons_. You know how they work," he shot back. "You are a bad pastor if you, agh, didn't know what holy water does to anything unholy."

"...Touché. I'll admit, I had ulterior motives. But we are past that."

"Why me? Why did you hurt me? You were there, you saw me enter this realm. I hadn't even done anything to hurt anyone. I was just asked to blow a horn and I was shot at, beaten, and trampled." The demon began shaking, growing more angry as he recalled the event.

"Hey, hey. Breathe. You're a smart demon. I know you can understand why we did that."

The demon huffed and said nothing, flicking its tail.

"Anyway. That matter aside..."

"You're hiding something." The demon folded his arms and looked at him. It was evident he didn't trust him at all. Craig knew he wasn't going to get much out of him like this.

"Okay, look. We'll play a game. You ask me a question, I'll answer it. Then I get to ask you a question and you'll answer it, and so on and so forth. How about that?"

"...Fine."

"You can go first," Craig offered, trying to gain his trust through the gesture.

"...Who... are you?" he asked.

"My name is Craig. I'm a youth pastor. I teach kids about God and stuff," he explained simply.

"But you preach to everyone all the time. You are the only preacher here."

"You're right. I'm supposed to be just a youth pastor. I've had to take over and run the whole church because the actual pastor is missing." Craig cleared his throat. "Now it is my turn to ask you a question. Do you know where the main pastor of this church is? Did you see what happened to him that night? He was with us. He's the man who shot your wing and threw the flashbang."

The demon thought quietly for a moment. "I don't know. I can't remember much. Everything is foggy. I remember my skin burning like it was on fire and shouting... pain.. I can remember you throwing me to the floor. That's about it."

Craig sighed. He knew it wasn't likely that the imp would know. He had gotten the hell beaten out of him after all.

"T-There was something.. off about that man, though," he added quickly. "I don't know what. Maybe it was just because he was a pastor." Craig quirked his brow. "Why did you hurt me? You knew it was bad. I saw it in your eyes. But you kept doing it," he continued, not elaborating on this previous thought.

"...I don't wish to talk about it."

"You said that if we played this game, you would answer my questions!" the demon protested, starting to grow angry. He looked like he was about to leave.

"Fine, fine. Calm down." He sighed. "I hate your kind. I hate them with every inch of my being. I know it's a sin to hate, but I do. You all took something very important away from me. You hurt people."

"We don't have a choice."

"What?"

"Most of us, we don't have a choice. We are servants. Slaves. Lackeys. We either obey or suffer more. We did not ask to be demons, most of us. _I didn't_."

Craig said nothing in response to that. "Whatever. My turn. Do you have a name?"

"...I did. Imps don't really get called by their names though."

"What was your name, then?"

"That's two questions."

"Come on now."

"...It's... Tweek," he answered.

"Tweek?"

"Yes." The demon seemed intrigued by having his name spoken aloud. "My question. What did the demons take from you that made you hate them?"

"...My sister," he sighed. "Do you have siblings?"

"No. Not real ones."

"I guess all demons are kinda siblings since your father is Satan."

"He is no father of mine," the blonde haired boy replied bitterly. This took Craig by surprise. He had just denounced the devil. "Are you ever going to let me go?"

"...If I am being honest, I don't know how to answer that right now." This made the demon frown. "You do not like Satan?"

"No." Craig wanted details, but he didn't want the demon he now knew to be called Tweek to get upset and leave.

"...Okay. Interesting. Tweek is a weird name, by the way."

"So is Craig."

The two continued playing this game of back and forth for quite a while. Craig learned that Tweek was quite old, but was perpetually a young adult, estimating to physically be about the same age as Craig. He learned that Tweek had only been to the mortal realm a few times, and that the worst thing he had ever done was scratch the hell out of Craig when he was attacked that night. When asked what it was like to have wings, Tweek explained he barely knew how to fly because imps weren't allowed that kind of freedom. Tweek had a pitch fork that he could summon with demonic energy, but couldn't do so inside the church. The demon had asked Craig about himself as well as various human things. He had no idea what a cell phone was!

Craig noticed that Tweek would dodge any questions relating to his past, either giving vague answers or answers that weren't related at all to the question, and would grow angry if prodded. He also noticed that Tweek was very easily stressed. He had a twitch of some sort, and repeatedly claimed things to be 'too much pressure.' He also made quiet whines and wails in the middle of sentences sometimes. They both eventually ran out of questions for each other. Craig bid the demon farewell, but asked one final question.

"Will you play this game again with me tomorrow?"

"...Yes. Bye.. Craig."

"See you tomorrow, Tweek."


	6. Chapter 6

Craig spent the whole night thinking about all the information Tweek had given him, along with coming up with new things to talk about. The demon was very intriguing. He wasn't sure how to feel about him. He'd spent years despising demons, believing them all to be bloodthirsty, evil monsters that he dedicated his life to extinguishing, but Tweek defied all that. He was a demon, but nothing he said or did would make Craig want to label him as evil. He didn't seem very proud to be a demon at all.

The next day, Craig headed up to the church as per usual. He brought with him some toys, trinkets, and more to show Tweek, who mentioned having very little contact with the mortal world in all his time. He'd been so intrigued by the pastor's cell phone that he wanted to see his reactions to other every day things that he personally wouldn't think twice about.

He unlocked the church and quickly stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He immediately looked up at the rafters, but saw no one there. "Tweek?" he called. He wondered if the demon had changed his mind, going back into hiding.

A head of messy blonde hair and horns popped up from in between two pews near the front row. Two green-blue eyes stared at Craig with intrigue.

"Down from the attic today are we?" he greeted.

"It gets cold up there," he grunted quietly.

"Yeah, its a little drafty. Don't like the cold?"

"I'm used to lots of things being on fire."

"Hell. Right. That makes sense." Craig walked past him, causing him to flinch. He pretended not to notice and set down a duffel bag he was carrying, full of the things he'd brought to show him.

"W-What.. is that..? What's in there..?" Tweek asked cautiously.

"Some stuff you might find interesting."

"Huh?"

"You don't know a lot about life in the 'mortal realm', as you called it. Thought you might be interested in seeing more stuff, like my phone yesterday. That's all."

"Oh." He looked at the duffel bag curiously, then back to Craig.

"You can have a look after my youth group activities today. Which, by the way, start soon. This church is gonna be full of a bunch of Christian kids learning about God. Can't exactly have a flesh and blood demon sitting in the church pews. Shit would be flipped."

"Ah..." He stood up and his wings started buzzing. Craig noticed they functioned more like bug wings than bat wings, flapping really fast to carry him off his feet. His wings had recovered, but he still wasn't used to flying. He awkwardly buzzed up into the rafters, disappearing among the beams.

"I'll let you know when it's safe to come out," Craig called up to him before proceeding on with his day. He was quite surprised the demon, who only the day prior had been hiding from him for months, had actually been hanging out on the ground level and even talked to him of his own volition.

Tweek watched Craig from his perch up in the rafters as he worked with the kids. It was interesting to watch, as children weren't a common sight in hell. Once they had all been picked up by their parents, he poked his head out from behind the beams.

"You coming down?" Craig asked, looking up at him. He nodded and fluttered down to the ground quietly. "Welcome back," the pastor greeted. "I assume you've been waiting to see what's in the bag all day." Tweek nodded again, tilting his head. "Alright, give me a second." Craig left and went into the back room, presumably to retrieve the bag. Tweek took a seat in the front pew. He sat kinda like a gargoyle.

The pastor returned carrying the large bag the demon had seen earlier that day. Without thinking much of it, he took a seat right next to him on the pew. Tweek jumped and looked uncomfortable for a moment. Craig pretended not to notice and just went to unzipping the bag. The imp calmed down when he accepted that he wasn't a threat, and turned his attention to the bag.

"First up, we have.. a rubix cube." He held up the multicolored toy to the demon, who looked at it inquisitively.

"What does it do?"

"It's a puzzle toy. You just move around all the squares until each side is just one color. Honestly I've had this thing for years and I never bothered solving that shit." He held out the cube to Tweek. He lightly took it and began fiddling with it curiously.

While he was busy with the toy, Craig dug through his bag to find something else to show him.

"Like this?"

Craig looked up to see the rubix cube solved.

"Holy shit. You did that fast."

"You said to make the colors match on each side."

"Yeah, but most people take quite a while to solve them unless they've practiced a ton."

"Oh." He looked at the cube and set it down.

"Well, here's the next thing. This is a fidget spinner. It's some toy that the kids like these days. You just.. spin it."

He handed it to the imp, who spun it. "...What is its purpose?"

"I have no idea. It's supposed to help people who fidget but it seems more like a distraction."

"Do humans have lots of useless trinkets like this?"

"Tons. We love them."

"Why?"

"Why not? Do demons have personal possessions?"

"Not really, besides our weapons and clothing."

"Huh. Interesting."

Craig showed him quite a few other things he had brought, including an MP3 player, a stuffed animal, a coloring book, and more. He'd accumulated a lot of things throughout the years of his work as a youth pastor. He pulled out the last thing, which was a bag of cheese puffs.

"Do demons eat?" he asked.

"They can, yes. Human food is not a necessity for most, except for glutton demons."

"Have you had chips before?"

"Chips?"

"They're a snack humans like to eat."

"I have not heard of them."

"Would you like to try one?" Craig opened the bag and held up a cheese puff. Tweek stared at it suspiciously.

"They're fine, look." He crunched down on one and ate it. He offered another to the blonde boy beside him.

"Do they hurt demons?"

"They're just cheese puffs. No."

Tweek hesitantly took it and sniffed it. "Smells weird."

"Try it."

He took a small bite of it, ready to spit it out at any moment if it proved to be some sort of trick to hurt him. He blinked and looked down at it curiously before eating the whole thing.

"Like it?"

"I think."

"Here's the rest of them, if you want them." He handed the bag to him. That whole bag was gone in a few moments.

They talked more for a while and Craig learned quite a bit about demon society. According to Tweek, imps were some of the lowest of the low. The weaker you were, the lower you were in social standing. There were multiple ways of bolstering their ranks as well. Certain demons could reproduce, Satan could create demons, and humans could be turned into demons. Not every person in hell was a demon either. Plenty of sinful humans found themselves in hell. They weren't very high in social ranking unless they were extremely evil, like an infamous serial killer. Most humans were just tortured for entertainment.

"It's getting late. I gotta go. Enjoy your toys," Craig announced, cutting their conversation short.

"Ah... Goodbye."

"Be back tomorrow."


	7. Chapter 7

The days went on like this. They would chat about things when no one was around, teaching each other about their respective worlds. Craig continued to show him various trinkets and baubles. The pastor found he had grown a little fond of the intriguing little demon residing in his church. He had his days where he was cranky and didn't want to talk, and others where he wanted to be paid attention to so badly that he was almost seen by other attendees of the church. He was a quirky guy; he was very clumsy and hurt himself frequently. He also panicked very easily. There was a morning where Craig was an hour late and Tweek had flipped his shit, making a huge mess in the back room. But, he began to notice the blonde haired demon becoming more and more lethargic and quiet as the days passed. One day, he decided to ask about it.

"You've been acting weird lately. What's going on?"

"I'm.. dying, Craig. You didn't know?"

"What..? No... what do you mean..?"

"M-My demonic energy is running out..."

"What does that mean?"

"Kinda like.. soul energy. Life force. When it does, my body won't be able to sustain itself. It'll die and I think my soul will go back to hell. Or I might just.. stop existing. Agh..." He was shaking. "Too much pressure..."

"How do we replenish your demonic energy, then?"

"By being in hell... consuming souls... having sacrifices made to us... sinning... consuming human blood..." he listed. "I've been deprived of that."

"What about food? Does food give you any energy?"

"Some..."

"I'll be right back."

Craig drove back to his house and assembled as much snacks and shit that he could. He presented them to the demon, urging him to eat as much as he wanted. Tweek subsequently gorged himself. He slammed down all the food like it was nothing. Craig had no idea where it all fit in his body and was mildly afraid.

"Well? How are you feeling?"

"A little better.. human food doesn't provide a ton of energy for us."

"I can't afford to feed you that much all the time anyway..." Craig tapped his foot. "So you need energy, huh..."

"A small amount of human blood works very well."

"I'm not giving you blood. You know how taboo it would be for a pastor to give blood to a demon?"

"Ah..."

"I'll figure something out."

"If I could just go outside, I could get blood easily..."

"I won't let you hurt anyone, Tweek."

"You said there is a 'blood bank' in the town during one of our conversations. There's blood there. I could go get some."

"Yeah.. no. First off, blood banks are for hospitals and stuff, people can't just go in there and buy blood like it's a convenience store. Second, if anyone saw you, there would be chaos. A good portion of the human race has no idea demons are real, physical creatures."

"If I had enough energy, I would be able to disguise myself as a human."

"You.. can do that?"

"Yes. Not at the moment though.."

"What about coffee? You ever had that?"

"No.. I've heard of it."

"Humans drink it all the time because it has a lot of caffeine in it that gives them energy. I'll bring you some tomorrow."

"Coffee can be used as a substitute for blood?"

"We'll find out."

  
Craig left that day with a pit forming in his stomach. For whatever reason, it had hit him hard when Tweek told him he was dying. He didn't know if it was because he'd grown so used to his presence and the thought of being left alone in the church every day like before was upsetting, or maybe it was because he felt guilty. It was kind've his fault in the first place, since he kept him locked up in the church. Or maybe he just cared about that weird little demon that had wedged its way into his life.

As promised, Craig brought Tweek a cup of coffee the next day.

"It's quite bitter."

"Yeah.. usually we put stuff like milk and sugar or other sweet stuff in it to make it taste better. But what do you think? I got as many shots of espresso as Starbucks would let me. I think any human would have a fucking heart attack if they drank it."

"I like it." He quickly chugged the drink.

"How's your energy levels?"

"Not sure. It might work though."

Within a few minutes, Tweek was twitching uncontrollably. But, he was the most energetic Craig had ever seen him.

"Seems to be working pretty good I'd say."

"Y-Yes. It's not blood, ah! But, it is decent. I will need more of these drinks."

"You can make them yourself. I'd be broke if I bought you Starbucks every single day."

"How?"

"I have a coffee machine. I'll bring it tomorrow."


	8. Chapter 8

The next day, Craig did as promised and brought in his coffee machine. He showed Tweek how to use it and the demon was set. This resulted in him consuming large amounts of coffee pretty frequently, and caused him to have more freak outs, but he was more lively and talkative, so Craig didn't stop him. The coffee machine never came back to his house, becoming a permanent fixture in the church's back office. Craig didn't mind, as Tweek would already be making coffee every morning when he got to work and he'd always get a cup.

Tweek had grown to be a staple part of the church at this point. Craig found himself bringing in things for Tweek to look at or eat frequently. He would come in early to chat with him in the mornings and stay late into the evenings, talking about whatever came to mind; whether it was a discussion about humans or demons or even broader concepts like the meaning of life. Tweek was still extremely dodgy about his past and Craig learned to just not ask about it. _Whatever it was, he was hiding it for a reason_. It made him a bit nervous in all honesty.

-

One particular evening, they watched a movie together on Craig's laptop. Tweek was extremely intrigued by cartoons, so they were watching Disney's _Hercules_. The demon criticized the portrayal of his kind in the film, but liked Phil the satyr played by Danny DeVito because he had goat legs just like he did. This amused Craig greatly; he would have to explain to Tweek what memes were at some point.

They were so invested in the movie that Craig failed to notice the heavy snow falling outside. It was only when he checked his phone after the end of it did he see that there was a blizzard warning in effect, urging people to hole up in their houses and conserve food and energy because they were going to be snowed in.

"Oh shit..." he mumbled, interrupting Tweek, who was humming the tune of _I Won't Say (I'm In Love),_  a song featured in the movie.

"What?"

"It's snowing pretty bad outside. I don't think I'm going to be able to drive home."

"Oh." Tweek had been intrigued by snow at first, but he'd grown used to seeing it outside the window up in the attic. It was the only one that wasn't painted glass, but it was still really foggy. Craig had meant to clean it ages ago but never got around to it. He mentioned offhandedly that snow wasn't as intriguing to him as rain, because snow reminded him of all the ash that fell from the sky when there were mass burnings in hell.

"Guess I'm staying the night here. Good thing I installed wifi in the church." He'd named the network _The Promised LAN_ , and he was quite proud of that joke.

Tweek nodded. "Do you have any more movies?"

"With the Internet, I can access pretty much any movie I want. Thousands of them."

"That's a lot. We have nothing like this in hell, agh."

"Huh.. yeah. It is pretty nice." He wondered if there was anything in hell for demons to enjoy. From what Tweek described, only violence, torture, and fighting were sources of entertainment for demons in hell.

The two began watching another Disney movie. They were a good ways into it when a large cracking noise could be heard, followed by a thud that shook the church. The lights shut off. Tweek had shot up in surprise, his wings spread out like he was ready to take off.

"What was that?!"

"Shit... that's not good." Craig got up and flicked the light switch, but the lights did not come back on. "A tree must've fell from all the snow and took out a power line."

"What does that mean..?"

"It means that we're not going to have electricity tonight. Or until they get it fixed, which will be pretty hard to do in this storm."

"No electricity...? That means... I can't make coffee...!"

"I'm afraid not. But that's not the biggest worry..."

"What's worse than no coffee?"

"We're snowed in in this drafty ass church that now has no way to heat itself. It's gonna get fucking cold very quickly."

"That is not good at all... agh... too much pressure... what do we do..? I don't like the cold... it burns..."

"Calm down, calm down. Hold on a sec." Craig made his way to the front door of the church and cracked it open, his face getting blasted with cold air. He looked outside for a moment before sighing and closing the door, brushing the snowflakes off his face and hat.

"Not good... not good..." Tweek was mumbling to himself.

"...Tweek."

"What?"

"I'm gonna go."

"Oh..." The imp looked over at him, unable to hide the betrayal in his eyes. "I understand... your home is probably warm... it might still have power..."

"I'm coming back though, okay? I'd be an asshole if I just abandoned someone to sleep in a cold ass church with no power and anything else. I'm going to go get supplies."

Tweek perked up. "Oh?"

"It'll probably take me a while but I will come back. I promise."

"Okay."


	9. Chapter 9

Craig bundled up best he could and exited the church. He closed the door behind him, seeing Tweek's gaze follow him until the door shut. He started up his car, and cautiously began to try to drive. He made it about halfway home before the snow got to be too much and he couldn't drive anymore. He got out and began the trek on foot. It was a while before he made it to his house, but he did. The power was out there, but the house was still warm. He was tempted to just stay there where it was safe and warm, but he'd be horrible if he just left the poor demon to freeze in the church all by himself after he promised he'd come back.

He grabbed a flashlight and his lighter, some bottled water, some snacks for him and energy powder for Tweek, and some matches. He had a large camping backpack from a trip he took with his youth group last year which he stuffed the items into. He was at a loss for what to do about warm clothing and such, as he didn't have much. He'd never lived with anyone else, so he only had enough clothing for himself. Nevertheless, he grabbed one of his sweaters and his only other coat, a scarf, and a pair of gloves. He put on the coat and gloves and stuffed the rest into his pack. Finally, he grabbed the only existing blanket in the house, the one to his bed, and rolled it up, strapping it to the top of his pack where the sleeping bag was supposed to go, which had long since disappeared.

"That's about it..." he mumbled. He popped his head in his room, checking on his guinea pig, Stripe, who seemed to be doing fine. He loaded the cage with food, water, and extra bedding. Craig wished he could take his beloved rodent with him, but the thing would not survive out in the cold for as long as the trek back to the church would take him. "Stay strong, Stripe. I'll be back for you soon."

With that, he disembarked back out into the winter storm. It had only gotten worse since he went inside, his footsteps from his hike there almost completely buried by snow. It was much harder the way back, as he was now carrying a heavy ass backpack and the snow was much thicker. He'd long lost the feeling in his face and hands, but he still kept trudging on. Why the hell was he putting up with all this shit and trying so hard for some demon? He would've never really done something like this for anyone, aside from potentially his youth group kids. "Damn you, Tweek..." he muttered.

It was a while before he made it back to the church. He was soaked and freezing. The parts that weren't numb were burning from the cold. His vision was getting blurry and he couldn't stop shaking. He weakly opened the door to the church and was greeted by the small blonde imp sitting in front of the door like a dog.

"You.. You came back.."

"Of c-course I d-d-did," Craig replied through chattering teeth. "What k-kind of ass-s-s..hole would I have b-been if I d-d-didn't?"

"What's wrong with you? Why are you talking like that?"

"Just-t... a l-litt-tle... c-cold..." Craig mumbled. The room started to grow dimmer, and he squinted at Tweek in confusion. "T-Tweek..." he managed to mumble out before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

"Craig..!" Tweek cried, springing up and rushing over to him. "What the f-fuck, ah..!" His eyes frantically scanned over him, but then looked up to the doorway in front of them where Craig had collapsed. Icy air and snow was blowing in. But more importantly, the door was open. Tweek could clearly see the outside. He could leave the church that he'd been confined in for so long and go home. He stared at it for a moment, then looked back to the collapsed pastor. His tail lashed back and forth with conflict. _He would die if he left him like that_. "Agh! Damn it!"


	10. Chapter 10

Tweek was paralyzed for a moment as he thought about what to do. This could be his only chance to leave the church, after all.  
"Damn it.. damn it..." he mumbled as he gazed upon the form of the pastor; a being he'd grown used to seeing and being around every single day. _Was his life worth the price of freedom?_

The demon grabbed Craig's wrist and dragged him inside, watching the door swing shut now that his body wasn't blocking it from doing so. He dragged him all the way back to the front of the pews where the stage was. "He's so cold... ah.. think, Tweek..." He gritted his pointed teeth and tugged on his hair. "Agh...! Too much pressure..!" the imp cried. He breathed quietly for a moment, recalling how Craig taught him how to center himself. He regained his composure the best he could.

"Okay.. human health... uh.. they need... to breathe..." He gently rolled him over. He was extremely pale. He leaned down and hovered his ear above Craig's mouth, listening for any signs of breathing, only to hear nothing. "Shit, shit.. no.." He lifted his head and looked down at him. "Not good.. agh.. uh... their hearts... pump blood... yeah, they need that." He pulled off Craig's backpack and coat and shoved it aside, pressing his hand to the point on Craig's chest he had seen him put his hand on during certain prayers. There was a faint beat. It definitely wasn't strong enough though.

The demon had no idea what to do. He was beginning to cry now out of panic, pressing on his chest frantically. "You can't die, Craig... you can't..! Agh.. he's like this because of me..!" He began pushing on his chest harder, repeatedly. "Work, now..! Beat..! That's what you're supposed to do, organ..!" he shouted. "Think, Tweek... how do you get him to breathe again... his body must be too cold... agh..."

He leaned down and pressed his mouth against the pastor's, forcing air into his lungs repeatedly. He continued this for what seemed like a while, but was probably only about thirty seconds. He leaned down again for another breath, but stopped as he heard quiet breathing coming from the pastor. Tweek blinked and wagged his tail, tilting his head to hear better. Sure enough, he was breathing.

The demon felt the pastor's heart once more, feeling a stronger beat. _He was alive_. "Oh, thank.. whoever." God? Satan? Who knows. _Whoever helped Craig_.

_Now onto getting him warm again_ , Tweek thought. He was still unconscious and pretty cold. Tweek dug through Craig's backpack, looking for anything that might help. He pulled out the lighter, as well as the blanket. Shuffling back over to the pastor, he picked him up and leaned him against the pew and draped the soft cloth over him. He then fiddled with the lighter, trying to remember how it worked. He'd seen Craig use it to light cigarettes so he knew it produced fire somehow.

"He flicked his thumb like this.. and.. woah." A small flame sparked to life. He stared at it intently, being reminded of hell. Tweek shook his head and snapped out of it, reaching down and pressing the flame to the spade at the end of his tail. It caught aflame. It didn't hurt though, only holy fire really had an effect on demons. Most demons could catch fire and be alright. Being consumed by enough fire to destroy their bodies was a different story though. He moved his tail over, closer to Craig where the flame grew to be a decent size on his tail. He sat across from him and waited, staring at the human intently.

"Wake up.. wake up.." he mumbled. Was the blanket and fire enough? "Agh..." He carefully maneuvered his way into the blanket's cover, beside Craig, without letting the flame on his tail touch anything. He took off Craig's soaked gloves, feeling his ice cold fingers. "Not good.. not good..." He shuffled up and pressed his body against him, draping a wing around the pastor as he held his ice cold hands in his own, trying his best to warm them up with his own body heat.

This was an extremely strange sensation to Tweek. He'd never really touched a human before after all. He'd occasionally brush against Craig if he was walking past him or handing something to him, or if Craig patted him on the shoulder for a brief moment, but this was very different.

"Warm up, you dumb pastor.. warm up..." he mumbled, hugging him close. "You're the only person who has ever shown me kindness.. _the only friend I've ever had..._ "


	11. Chapter 11

Some time passed before Craig's body suddenly jerked as he let out a weak cough. Tweek opened up his eyes, having nodded off a bit from the warmth and softness he was surrounded with. He saw the pastor peel open his eyes and let out a weak groan.

"Ugh.."

"Craig..!"

"Tweek..? What... happened..?"

"Agh.. I don't know..! You just... collapsed... you were so cold... you weren't breathing.. your heart.."

"Ah..." He went to reach up a hand to rub his eyes, but noticed Tweek was holding his hands. "Wha.."

Tweek let out a squeak and let go of him, shuffling out of the blankets and scooting away. "Sorry..!"

Craig blinked and looked down at his body, then his surroundings, and then back to Tweek. "You... saved me?"

Tweek twiddled his thumbs, his claw-like nails clicking together. "I-I.."

"Thank you, Tweek." He held up his hands and moved his fingers about. "I think I was suffering a bit of hypothermia or was in the process of getting it."

"What's that..?"

"It's when your body gets so cold that it stops working. Freezing to death. I don't think I've told you.. but my heart isn't the strongest. Between the snow and how cold it was... and carrying all that stuff while hiking back here... I overestimated how much I could handle." He rubbed his eyes and gave another cough. He'd never explained to Tweek that his health was pretty bad. "You saved my life, dude. How'd you get me to start breathing again?"

"Oh, I just..." He suddenly grew embarrassed. Deciding it would probably not be a good idea to inform the pastor that he'd basically kissed a demon, he left that detail out. "I was just... pressing on your heart, agh, and you started breathing again... then I tried to warm you up...!"

"You did all that and you had no idea what was wrong.. wow. I'm impressed." He recalled how the demon had pressed himself up against him to try to warm him up. He wondered how long he was like that for.

"Agh... I just.. panicked... I don't know.. hh.." Tweek mumbled. "Are you okay now?"

"Hopefully... could you hand me one of the bottles of water from my pack?"

Tweek nodded and pulled out one of the water bottles. It wasn't ice cold anymore, which was probably a good thing. He handed to to Craig, who weakly opened it and took some sips. "You know, Tweek... I've been wondering... how on earth are you a demon? You're not.. like them."

Tweek flicked his tail and shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh.. well then.. uh, different question. How is your tail on fire?"

"I set it on fire, agh..."

"Does it hurt?"

"Not really.."

"Huh... so it can just burn like that?"

"Yeah.."

"Is all of you that fire resistant?"

"No. My skin isn't.."

"Ah." So only Tweek's demon parts were like that. He wondered why, but didn't press it. "Well.. again, thank you, Tweek. You saved my life."

"...Well.. this all happened because you tried to come back for me... now you've almost died... and you're stuck in this church with me until the snow goes away... I don't understand why you're thanking me."

"Don't blame yourself. I chose to do this." He was slowly working on moving around his limbs to work the stiffness out of his muscles. "Humans kinda do dumb shit like this all the time."

"Why?"

"God, well... sometimes because they're stupid, definitely... sometimes for fun... sometimes just because they care a lot. Lots of reasons."

"Why did you come back here? You.. would've been warm and safe, ah, in your house... you could've easily left me here... but you didn't. Why?" Tweek paused as his body twitched. "I'm j-just a demon after all, and not even a good one. You hate demons. Why would you risk your life for one? Especially me? Agh, I don't understand at all..!"

"Well... maybe there's a demon out there who might be changing my mind a bit."

"Who..?"

"You, dumbass."

"Ah..." Tweek looked away, his tail slowly flicking back and forth.

"Be careful with that. This church is flammable as hell. Pun intended."

"Ah.. haha.." The demon gave a small, tired laugh.

"How's your energy levels?"

"Low."

"I brought some packs of energy powder for you. Not as potent as your coffee but it's what I had." Craig showed him how to mix the powder with the bottled water and Tweek chugged the sucker before he could even finish mixing it all.

"Well.. how's that?"

"Better."

"Good. You'll have to ration them out though, I didn't bring a ton and I'm not sure how long we'll be here." He paused to let out another cough. "Ugh.."

"Why do you always cough? Is something wrong with your throat?"

"My job is basically passionately yelling about God all day. It's a little strenuous on the vocal cords."

"Ah.. so.. your job. You... teach?"

"Kinda. That's what I'm supposed to be doing, anyway. But now I also have to do everything else. Preach.. bless people and things... all that kinda shit."

"Do you tell stories?"

"I mean, I guess. The ones in the Bible. I read them to the kids and simplify them to teach them about it in a way they can understand."

"Who comes and tells you stories?"

"No one."

"No one?"

"Yeah. When I'm done with my work here, I just go home, sleep, and then start the process all over again."

"You do not have any den mates?"

"Den mates..?"

"You know, the other humans you have to live with. I forget the human word."

"Family..?"

"Yes, that one."

"No, I live by myself."

"You get a whole den to yourself?"

"We call them houses, but yeah."

"For imps, we all have to live in the caves. It's crowded and cramped. I do not like it."

"I wouldn't enjoy that either."

"But I suppose you would get lonely if you didn't have anyone around..."

"Yeah.." Craig looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes, sighing. "That's why I spend a lot of time here. I have a few friends, but I don't hear much from them anymore. They're just off living their lives elsewhere."

"All the people that come to listen to you, they're not your friends?"

"They're good people, but no. I care about them but from like.. a job standpoint."

"Then even here is lonely."

"It was, yeah."

"Was?"

"Well.. you're here, aren't you?"

"...I am." Tweek was quiet for a moment, deep in thought.

Their relationship was a strange one. Neither seemed to know what the other's intentions were. Tweek wondered why Craig was doing all this. He'd hated him when they first met. Maybe he was still studying him and he was just being friendly to get more information out of him as opposed to torturing him. He was still keeping him in the church, after all. If he asked to leave at that moment, would Craig say yes? He did not know. Maybe Craig was just talking to him purely because he was there and would be there forever. He could be trying to trick him into trusting him to make him not leave and cause harm to humanity. He could just be talking to him because he's lonely. Perhaps he wouldn't do so at all if he had other people in his life and he's only tolerating Tweek's company because something is better than nothing. Or maybe he really did just want to be his friend, he really did not know. Why would anyone care about a demon like him? No one ever has, so why would a pastor of all people? It just didn't make sense. Tweek could not figure out why Craig did what he did and these thoughts worried him. He wanted Craig to be his friend, but he had no idea what Craig's intentions were. What was he feeling? It was true that living in the church was not bad, per se. He did not have to live in a crowded cave and get regularly abused and treated like a slave like he would in hell. Craig did not hurt him, he did not really make him do anything, he just talked to him in the evenings about whatever came to mind, and then left him, returning the next day. He sometimes brought him things as well, never asking for anything in return. It was strange.

Craig, on the other hand, did not know why Tweek did what he did. He was a demon. There had to be some level of bad in him somewhere for him even to exist. Perhaps, this whole time, Tweek was simply putting on an act to get Craig to trust him so that he would let him out. If he did let him out, would he just leave and reveal that everything had been a sham? Was their relationship the product of extremely specific circumstances that would dissipate as soon as something changed? Maybe the only reason they were getting along was because he was locked in the church, and they were both lonely enough to be willing to put up with each other. Even with these doubts, Craig couldn't forget the warmth of the demon's body against his as he had faded back into consciousness.

Was what they had real, or was it merely a product of circumstance? Was it as fragile as a feather resting on a blade of grass that would fly away as soon as a small breeze came? Neither knew. They didn't know how to communicate that either, as it could confirm their suspicions and ruin whatever it was they had going on, even if it wasn't real.

"Would you like to hear a story?" Tweek asked.

"Sure. What kind of story?"

"Demons have lots of stories. We live for very long times, after all. What kind of story do you want to hear?"

"Tell me your favorite one."

"Okay.. hm. Ah.. maybe this one." Tweek folded his hands together. "There's a story some demons like to tell. Usually the ones who are said to have hearts of humans inside them because they can understand the feelings. So here it goes. There was once a demon, whose name has been forgotten with the telling of the story. Or, it's possible they never existed at all. But, ah, anyway, there was a demon. They had been a human once, very long ago. They did something bad, and so when they died they went to hell. Satan happened to use their soul to make a demon. The demon still ultimately had a human soul, and a human heart. One day, while the demon was sent to the mortal realm, it happened upon a human. The demon attacked the human, as it was ingrained in their demon half to do, but the human did not resist. The demon, confused and intrigued, stopped. It found out that the human was deeply sad because they had lost someone important to them and was ready to accept death, calling the demon a grim reaper who had come to finish them off. The human part of the demon felt sympathy for the human, and decided to stick around. The demon was rather unhappy in hell, as the human part still longed to feel love and happiness, which was something a demon would never get. The human did not trust the demon, and at first wanted it to leave. They did not get along in the beginning, but they learned to understand each other. The demon fell in love with the human, but they were conflicted. The demon part of them had no idea how to love, it wasn't supposed to be capable of it. The demon had also spent such a long time in hell that it didn't know if what it was feeling was even love at all. It could've been admiration, friendship, contentment, anything, really. All they knew is that they liked the human and wanted to be around them, but didn't know if the human felt the same. After all, who would love a demon? The demon did not understand what it was like to be loved. Eventually, the human confessed their love to the demon. The demon was very happy, but also very confused and sad. The demon cared deeply for the human, and they told them, 'I share your feelings, but, you should not love a demon. We are evil at the fundamental level. I have done bad things, you know. You do not deserve that. You deserve much better, my love.'"

"What did the human say?"

"The human said, 'we are all flawed. We all make mistakes. I have done my share of bad things too. It does not matter if you have done bad things in the past. If you are good in the present, and continue to be and do good in the future, you have learned. So even if you are a demon because you did something bad in the past, you have had time to change and grow and become good. If I can give you a second chance, you can give yourself one too. And I can try to do the same for myself.' The demon understood what it felt like to be loved for the very first time and understood their own feelings too. They returned the human's feelings and saw past the things that made them different to become one whole. They didn't know how long it would last, or even that it would work. The human had a much shorter life span; they would grow old and die and the demon would not. If they died and went to heaven, the demon would never be able to see them again. Was their love doomed from the start? These were all worries that the demon expressed to the human. But, the human said, 'the future is uncertain. While it's important to look ahead, if you spend all your time worrying about the future, you'll forget to enjoy the present. So, even if we can't have it forever, let's enjoy our love while we can and make the most of it.'"

"What happened to them after that?"

"I don't know. No one really knows how that story ends. It could have many different endings."

"Ah... well, I liked that story a lot. Thank you for telling it to me. Why is that one your favorite?"

"I'm not sure. It's just stood out to me." He hugged his knees. "Maybe it's because it gives you a little hope."

"Mmhm." Craig gave a small smile before yawning. Tweek had never seen him smile like that. Sure, he'd seen him smile when talking to people at the church, but those seemed more of a courtesy than genuine. He seemed peaceful now, even in his bad health. "I obviously don't know any other demon stories, but I think that one would stay my favorite even if I heard other ones."


	12. Chapter 12

"Are you tired?" Tweek asked after Craig had let out a yawn.

"I'm always tired. Maybe we'll get snowed in long enough for me to have a break from the church stuff for once." He flopped over, laying on his back and looking up at the ceiling. "Truth be told, I'm not even very religious. I don't really like preaching."

"Why do you do it then?"

"Because I don't want anyone to lose someone like I did. A little hope can go a long way. If you have faith in God, in a way, you have faith in yourself." He paused for a moment, seeming to think before letting out a sigh. "I'm actually a pretty big sinner. I'm crude, I have impure thoughts, I curse and smoke, I'm not extremely faithful to God, I've said his name in vain too many times to count. I hate people and things... I'd fall in love with a guy and have a relationship with him if I happened to find the right one, I'm selfish sometimes, and now here I am spending time with the spawn of the devil himself and I'm having a good time. But hey, to be flawed is to be human. God would not have made us this way if he didn't want us to be flawed. That's what I think, anyways." He gave a small chuckle, reaching his hand up and pointing to the ceiling. "I really wanted to be an astronaut as a kid. I fucking loved space. Well, I still do. Would never have dreamed of being a damn youth pastor of all things, but life dealt me some different cards."

"..I'm a poor excuse for a demon as well. But I think you already knew that."

"Guess we're both a couple of flawed products."

"I believe so."

"And you know what?"

"What?"

"I think that's okay. Life would be pretty boring if things weren't flawed. If there wasn't bad, how would we know what good is? There's nothing to compare."

"..Hm. That is true. I've never thought about it like that before." Tweek stretched his wings, letting out a sigh. It was evident his energy drink was wearing off. "You have so much to say. You should preach about these things. It would be more interesting to listen to."

"I wouldn't want to. I don't like to talk about myself."

"Oh."

"But it seems I can make an exception for you. Hm." He wondered why.

"It is the same for me too."

"You're an interesting demon, Tweek."

"And you're an interesting human, Craig."

 

  
The two sat in silence for a while. Craig was beginning to doze off when he heard Tweek chatter. He opened an eye and looked over at him.

"Are you cold? Or are you just doing that shaky.. twitchy thing that you do?"

"I'm fine. I'm on fire."

"For as long as I've been a pastor, it's funny you think a lie like that would get past me." He sat up and scooted over to his backpack, pulling out the sweater and scarf that he had packed for the demon. "Here." He tossed the clothing over to Tweek, who looked at it in confusion. "It's for you to put on. Forgot to give it to you earlier since I was kinda.. dying."

"Ah..." He blinked and examined it. The sweater was blue, and the scarf was different shades of yellow. The sweater was easy enough to figure out, it was just some sort of weird, yet soft shirt. It was too big for him, and the sleeves covered his hands. As for the scarf, he had no clue what to do with it. "What is this?"

"Well, the thing you have on is a sweater. The thing you're holding is a scarf. You wrap it around your neck."

"That sounds dangerous."

"No... like this." He shuffled over and gently did the scarf. "There. It keeps your neck warm."

"Ah..." Tweek looked over himself. "I haven't worn different clothing in a long time." It was comfortable. It smelled like Craig, so he assumed the clothing belonged to him. Hence why it was big on him.

"You feeling warmer now?"

"Yes. Thanks."

"Sorry I don't have more than one blanket, this one was supposed to be for you."

"But then you wouldn't have had one..?"

"Yup." He shrugged and settled back in. "I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Do you sleep? At night. What do you do here when I'm not around?"

"I sleep sometimes, yes. Tonight will probably be one of those times, so I can conserve my energy."

"What do you do when you don't sleep?"

"I just.. wait for you to come back, I suppose." He fiddled with the edges of the scarf while he spoke. "I play with the things you've given me, but there's only so many times you can solve that little colorful cube thing without growing bored of it."

"Ah... well, I'll work on finding some more entertaining stuff for you to do, alright?" Craig yawned and rubbed his eyes. "I think I'm gonna sleep now. What about you?"

"I will try to do the same."

"Are you warm enough?"

"Yes."

"Alright." The pastor laid down on the pew and attempted to make himself comfortable. "You don't have to keep the fire going any longer, unless you want to. There's a flashlight in my bag if you want to see."

"Ah.. alright." Tweek lifted his tail to blow out the flame.

"Goodnight, Tweek."

"Goodnight, Craig."

The room became dark as Tweek extinguished their light source. All was silent except for the storm outside, but snow storms weren't super loud. Craig closed his eyes and tried to doze off, but his mind was on alert. He couldn't help but strain his ears, listening for any kind of noise from Tweek. He had no idea what the demon planned to do. He could attack Craig in his sleep for all he knew. He hoped that wasn't the case, but there is a seed of doubt in every human's heart.

He felt a thunk from the far end of the pew he was laying on. A click of hooves, some shuffling, and then silence. Tweek had climbed onto the pew as far as he could tell, but he had no idea what he was doing. He could be sitting there, staring into his soul for all he knew. He dared not open his eyes to indicate he noticed, though. Tweek had revealed to him that his eyesight was pretty good in the dark during one of their conversations. He continued listening for any type of movement or noise, but the only thing he could hear was the storm and some faint, slow breathing. _The demon must've gone to sleep_. Craig let out a sigh of relief and let sleep take him away from reality.

 

The pastor awoke to a sudden, sharp cry. He sat up and looked around with a mix of drowsy confusion and adrenaline fueled fear. Pale moon light was filtering in through the painted glass windows, painting very intricate and odd shadows all over the church. It was like some sort of different dimension. A quiet whimper snapped him back to reality. Looking over at the source of the noise, he could make out the vague form of Tweek, curled up in a ball, at the other end of the pew.

"Tweek..? You okay..?" Craig called to him in a soft whisper. No response. Tweek twitched and let out another distressed noise. Craig quietly got up and shuffled over to the demon to check on him.

Tweek was still asleep, it seemed. _He must be having some sort of nightmare that's causing him to talk in his sleep_ , Craig concluded. He reached out to wake him up, but Tweek began quietly mumbling, which made him pause.

"No.. please.. not again..." the imp whimpered. "It hurts... ngh... why me..?"

The pastor frowned. Definitely some sort of bad dream. He pulled the blanket draped around his shoulders off and gently covered up Tweek with it. It seemed to calm him a bit, but he continued to let out small whimpering noises. Craig leaned down and rested a hand on his head, lightly petting him until he stopped whimpering and moving around like he was distressed. He relaxed, settling back down into a quiet slumber. The pastor had done something similar for some children who were having nightmares on one of his church trips.

Craig smiled and stood back up, going back over to his side and settling back down. Using his coat as a blanket, he let sleep take him once more.


	13. Chapter 13

In the morning, Tweek awoke first. He noticed the blanket and looked over at Craig, who was still snoozing away. Why had he given up his blanket? It was blue with lighter blue designs on it. It seemed Craig really liked the color blue. It was very soft and warm, weighted enough that it made you feel safe when swaddled up in it. It smelled very strongly of the pastor, who had mentioned it was his only blanket the night before. In a sense, the imp felt like he was encased in a warmth, not just of the fabric of the sweater or scarf, or the blanket, but the warmth of a person. He gazed over at Craig's sleeping face, which looked young and peaceful, and felt more confident in his hope that at least to some extent, the pastor liked him. He could not confirm this, but no one had ever acted in this manner towards Tweek in his whole existence. He never had to bring him toys and trinkets and snacks, or show him how to make coffee, or stay late to watch movies with him, or risk his life hiking through a blizzard to stay with him at the church so he wouldn't be alone, or given him his clothes and blanket for seemingly no reason other than he wanted to make sure the demon was warm. Hell, he could've easily recaptured him to continue his experiments on him that afternoon when he caught Tweek sleeping, but he didn't. He just sat there and watched him, and tried to talk to him once he was awake. He didn't understand why Craig would do these things for him, or what the motive was. But at least, to some extent, he did care, it seemed. Maybe a life in this old church wouldn't be a bad thing at all?

Tweek snuggled up in the blanket and dozed back off. Humans made some pretty nice things sometimes, and blankets were definitely one of them.

Some time later, the blonde haired devil awoke again and saw Craig, now awake, munching on some sort of human snack and reading what looked like a bible. He noticed Tweek's gaze and looked over at him.

"He wakes."

"Ah... good morning.." Tweek paused to yawn, giving Craig a good view of his sharp teeth, and oddly enough, a pointed tongue. It was a detail he'd never noticed before.

"Morning. Sleep well?"

"I think so."

"Did you have a nightmare?"

"...How'd you know?"

"You were freaking out in your sleep. You sounded upset."

"Oh..." He clutched the blanket a little tighter. That's when he must've given him it, he deduced. "Sorry I woke you up."

"It's okay, you couldn't help it. What were you dreaming about..?"

"...Just some.. old memories," the demon replied vaguely.

"Ah. Well..." the pastor trailed off, changing the subject. "The snow storm passed. We got hit pretty good, but it looks like they're trying to clear the roads and shit out there. Hopefully the power will get fixed soon too."

"Does that mean you will go home?"

"At some point, yes. I need to shower and eat and do all that stuff. But I won't leave until the power is back on and everything is back to normal here." He noticed how Tweek was all balled up in the blanket. "You like that thing, huh?"

"It is soft and warm," Tweek explained, nodding his head.

 _Like mash potatoe_ , Craig thought to himself. "Yup, that's their job. I'll get you your own soon."

"But I like this one."

"That's the comforter to my bed. I need that. I'll get you one similar to it."

Tweek hugged the blanket closer and gave a huff of protest. "This one."

"What's so special about that one?"

"...I dunno. I just like it." He pulled the blanket over his head. Now he was just a blue blob with a spaded tail sticking out.

"We'll talk about this later," Craig concluded.

Tweek flicked his tail indignantly. When a demon wanted something, you couldn't tell it no. It can and will outlive you and take what it wants off your corpse. Some of the things Tweek did were rather childlike in nature. Craig wondered if Tweek had ever even had a childhood. Did demons grow up?

Time passed by slowly but surely. They preoccupied themselves with the little trinkets that had slowly accumulated inside the church due to Craig bringing in things for Tweek all the time. They were playing a board game the pastor had gotten to play with his youth group when the lights on the church flickered on.

"Thank God. It was getting as cold as hell in here."

"Only one part of hell is cold," Tweek corrected. "Most of it is on fire."

"Ah. It's just an expression. Adding 'as hell' to the end of a statement just kinda... exaggerates it. If I said someone was 'cute as hell', I'd be saying they're very cute. Get it?"

"I see." Tweek had picked up some of the current dialect and speech patterns, but certain things still flew over his head. Craig almost broke out into laughter when he had to explain what a 'dab' was to the demon. "Am I cute 'as hell'?" he asked, tilting his head. Another thing about Tweek, he had a habit of asking Craig weird questions because he didn't know any better, like a child. "That sounds so contradictory. Hell is very.. unsightly."

"Well, I mean..." he trailed off, looking over the demon. Demons weren't cute with their leathery bat wings and menacing horns that protruded from their foreheads. Demons weren't cute at all. Definitely not. Especially not some weird little imp with a caffeine addiction. Craig blinked as he thought about it, his eyes fixed on Tweek. Well... he was kinda cute with his soft, wild blonde hair and green-blue eyes and his easily frazzled personality, as well as the way he seemed to light up when Craig showed him human things or when he came to the church in the morning. Maybe even the clumsiness or the way he sat like a gargoyle in the pews was cute. _But, that was besides the point._ Craig gave a shrug. "...Sure."

"What does cute mean?"

"Oh my god." He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a defeated chuckle. He'd walked into that one. "Okay, so like... cute. Kinda like... endearing? Attractive?" He scratched his head as he thought. "Cute is a really hard word to explain."

"You think I am attractive, Craig?" he asked innocently.

"Okay, I'm cancelling this conversation. I'm gonna bring you a dictionary some time and you can learn the meanings of whatever words you want."

  
They finished up their board game and Craig checked outside. The roads had gotten plowed, thankfully. This town was pretty shitty sometimes, but it did know how to deal with snow. The church was warming back up and things were returning to normal.

"It's about time I head home. Gotta make sure everything's okay there, then I'll probably go to the doctor and make sure my body is okay."

Tweek frowned for a moment, as if he was disappointed by hearing he was leaving. "Alright then."

"I'll be back soon." Craig packed up all his stuff. He had to battle with Tweek for the blanket that he'd taken a liking to, but eventually he convinced him to give it up so he could wash it. Before leaving, he placed a hand on the demon's shoulder, which caused him to jump for a moment. "Thank you for what you did for me last night."

"Ah.. well.. it's kinda my fault that that happened anyway, so.. you should not thank me."

"Don't think of it like that. I chose to go out there." He patted his shoulder and left.

Walking until he came across his car, which thankfully was left unscathed, Craig returned home and made sure Stripe and everything else was okay and went on with the rest of his day. He did go to the doctor and was found to be doing okay, but he needed to take things easy for a while. He returned to the church the next day and life resumed as normal.


	14. Chapter 14

One evening in particular, Craig had stayed late at the church to show Tweek what video games were. They had played some already, and now Craig was working on setting up the next one. The TV was being finicky so it was taking him a minute.

Meanwhile, Tweek was staring outside through the painted glass. It was raining for the first time since he'd started staying at the church. Usually all they got was snow if there was anything at all. He had run out of coffee that morning and was starting to feel a little sluggish.

"Hey, I got the game set up," Craig called. Tweek did not stir, or seem to acknowledge that he heard him. "Tweek?" The pastor walked over to him, tapping him on the shoulder. "Anyone home?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry. I was just.. thinking."

"About?"

"The rain. It's been so long, I don't even remember what it feels like." He continued watching the rain as it hit the painted glass and trickled off its colored surface, illuminated by the street light outside the building.

"Have you been out in the rain before?"

"Yes, back when I was...ah, oops.. forget I said that. I am not thinking."

"When you were..?"

"...alive. Back when I was alive," Tweek mumbled.

"Back when you were... alive?" Craig echoed in surprise. "Tweek... were you... human, once..?"

"...I was, yes. A very long time ago."

"Why didn't you say so until now?"

"Well, I'm a demon now. So I.. I didn't want you to think... that I was bad. Or that I had done something bad... because bad humans get turned into demons."

"I.. no. I don't think you're bad. I don't know what you did to become a demon, but even if you were bad enough back then for that to happen, that doesn't mean you are now."

"...Really?"

"Yeah. How did you.. become a demon..?"

"...I don't want to talk about it..."

"That's fine, no pressure." Craig thought to himself for a moment. "..Well. How would you... like to.. uh..." he tailed off, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "...Go out there and see for yourself how the rain feels?"

The imp turned to him, blinking in surprise. "Really..?"

"Y-Yeah. If you want to.."

"...Ah.. well.. I don't have enough energy for my human disguise... like you said, it probably wouldn't be a good idea for a demon to be walking around outside..."

"It's.. pretty late out. I don't think anyone is around to see..." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, his right hand lightly gripping a steel cross pendant that he always kept with him. "If you'd rather stay inside that's okay too. The game is set up. You just looked like you wanted to go out and see the rain, so..."

"..I would like to, yes." He turned from the window and looked up at Craig curiously.

The pastor nodded and shuffled off towards the door. He reached out for the handle and was surprised to find his hand shaking a little bit. Why was he so nervous? He gripped the doorknob and steeled his nerves. He knew there was a possibility the demon could flee and never return, if he had just been waiting this whole time for a chance like this. But, it wasn't fair of Craig to keep him in the church like this any longer. Tweek didn't deserve it at all. He pulled open the door and gestured for Tweek to go first. "After you."

The imp cautiously poked his head outside the door and looked around before stepping out. The doorway was shielded from the rain by a wooden overhang. "Woah..."

Craig closed the door behind them slowly, bracing himself for the moment the demon would take off into the night. But, that moment never came.

He stared at Tweek in confusion as the demon stuck his hand out, letting the rain fall on his pale skin as he watched it do so in amazement.

"We have nothing like this in hell. It's been so long since I've felt the rain, ah..!" He looked over at Craig excitedly. "Thank you, Craig!"

It took the pastor a minute to process Tweek was even talking to him; he had been so nervous that the blonde haired boy was going to bolt.

"Ah.. well.. do you like it?"

"Yeah!" He jumped off the little wooden porch and fluttered over the two stairs, landing down on the sidewalk out in front of the church with a click of his hooves on the concrete. He was quickly becoming wet as the rain poured down on him, but he didn't seem to mind at all. Craig reached out his hand, as if to try to grab him and pull him back inside, but he slowly lowered it. He watched the demon spread out his wings and hold out his arms, letting out an excited laugh as he spun around.

"You're gonna get soaked, you know," he called to him.

"Who cares?" He fluttered back over to Craig. "You're not coming out too?"

"Nah, I don't want to get wet. Then I'll get cold and grumpy."

"Aww, come on, Craig.." Tweek took his wrist in his hand. "Just for a bit! You're usually cold and grumpy anyways." Before Craig could even protest, he was pulled out into the rain by the imp.

"Agh..! Tweek...!" the pastor exclaimed. "I'm gonna get soaked!"

"It's okay! I'm already soaked!" That was true. His crazy blonde hair was actually plastered against his head, and his old green button up shirt clung to his thin body. Craig looked over him and sighed.

"Well, fuck it. I'm already wet." He crossed his arms. "What else do you want from me, demon?"

"Hm.. well..." He eyed Craig's hat. "Do you ever take that off?"

"Only when I shower."

"You should take it off. It's kinda like a shower right now."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I never take it off unless I have to."

"How about... you take it off, or I'll take it off for you?" Tweek spread his wings, like he was ready to pounce. "Now you have to."

"Nope, I'm not agreeing to this."

"Then I guess I'll have to!" He lunged for Craig, who side stepped out of the way. Tweek let out a yelp as he skittered across the wet grass of the yard in front of the church, almost falling over.

"Good luck with that," the youth pastor scoffed, wiping away the rain accumulating on his face.

"Agh...!" Tweek whipped around and charged at him once more. It turned into a game of chase, the two sprinting around the yard like a couple of children. Tweek was whining in frustration as Craig teased him for not being able to catch him. His hooves were slipping around in the mud and wet grass. The demon held out his hand and with a flash of fire, a large, red pitch fork appeared. He plunged it into the ground, and almost like the sport of pole vaulting, he used it to launch himself forward. Craig turned around to make a snide comment at him as he did this, and all he could manage to do was let out a string of curses as he saw what the demon was doing. Tweek shot through the air and collided with Craig, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Thankfully, they were on the grass so it didn't hurt.

Craig landed on his back and let out a grunt as Tweek landed on top of him, making some sort of shrieking noise.

"Caught you..!"

"Holy.. shit, dude..." Craig wheezed, trying to catch his breath. "That was so fucking unnecessary."

"I win!" the demon boasted, sitting on Craig's stomach like it was a throne. His tail was lashing back and forth with excitement.

"You sure did, I guess." Craig sighed and looked away. "Fine. Whatever. No laughing, though." He hesitantly pulled off his hat to reveal his raven-colored hair, swooped over to one side.

"Woah... its black?" Tweek stared at him with intrigue. Another thing about him, his eyes had a tendency to reflect light a lot better than human eyes. Kinda like a cat. He looked absolutely intrigued by something as mundane as Craig's hair.

"Y-Yeah..?" Craig felt his chest tighten as the demon's green-blue eyes continued to stare into him.

"I like it."

"T-Thanks.. can you uh.. get off of me..? I'm gonna be pissed if my uniform is covered in mud now." He actually didn't care if his clothes got dirty, he could always wash them, but the weight of Tweek on his chest was making it hard for him to think for some reason.

"Ah..! Right..!" He scrambled to his feet. "Are you hurt..?"

"Nope.." Craig grunted and got to his feet. "I'm now soaked to the bone though, God..."

"Sorry.. I just.. got a little carried away.." He snapped and the pitch fork disappeared.

"Really, I'm okay." He wrung out his hat even though it was a useless task, as it would just get wet again. "So that's your fabled pitch fork, huh?"

"Oh..! Yeah..! I can summon it now that I'm outside..! Agh, I didn't even think about it.."

"...It was pretty sweet."

"Sweet as in.. cool, right..?"

"Yeah." He crossed his arms. "Though I could consider that cheating, you know. It's not like I could summon a pitch fork to help me."

"I-I, well-

"I'm just joking." Craig let out a chuckle and ruffled up Tweek's hair. "Let's get out of the rain now. You're going to catch a cold or something, you're literally only wearing a shirt out here and it's barely above freezing." He wondered if demons even caught colds like humans did. He'd have to ask him about it sometime.

"Agh..! Okay..!"

The two headed back to the church, but Craig stopped him at the doorway.

"Hold on, I'm not gonna get water and mud everywhere in there because then I have to come in early and clean it up." He looked over Tweek for a moment, thinking to himself. "Wait here, okay?"

"Okay..."

Craig took off his shoes and went inside, leaving Tweek to stand at the door by himself.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck..." Craig mumbled to himself. He just totally left him out there without thinking about it. He could easily leave and he'd never see him again. He was searching the back room for towels or anything to dry themselves off really, but there was nothing to be found. "Shit.. uh.." He looked around before grabbing all his things and shoving the non important stuff into his office to deal with later, turning off the game. He grabbed his keys and ran back to the door. He quickly pulled it open, braced for absolutely no one to be there.

"Are you okay, Craig?" Tweek asked. He was standing right where the pastor had left him. "You're really pale. Are you getting cold again..?!"

"No, no.. I just.." He ran a hand through his own hair and let out a sigh. "..I'm okay." He smiled to himself as he leaned over and turned off the lights, closing the door behind him.

"What are you doing..?"

"There's no towels or anything in there. So, come on." He held up his car keys. "We're gonna go back to my house."

"Your.. house..?"

"Yeah. Unless you want to stay here. I guess I could bring towels back and stuff.."

Tweek's wings fluttered a little. "No, that's okay. Let's go." He gave Craig a small smile that made it hard for the pastor to breathe for a moment.

"..Right. Come on then." He led the demon to his car, opening the door for him. He'd explained to Tweek what cars were, but the demon had never encountered one before in person.

"Won't I get mud and water everywhere?"

"Leather seats. Easy to clean."

"Ah..."


	15. Chapter 15

 

They were off. Tweek was very intrigued by the car, looking at all the things Craig was doing. He was pressing buttons, which earned him a scolding so he watched the landscape zip by outside instead.

"Which one is your house?"

"It's coming up... there." He pointed to his house as it appeared on the horizon.

"You really like the color blue."

"It's a good color."

"I like green. I don't get to see much green in hell."

"No plants or anything down there?"

"Not at all. Sometimes some shriveled weeds or thorny, dead vine things."

"Huh." He couldn't imagine living somewhere with no plant life. Not even grass. "Well, here we are," he announced as he pulled up into the driveway. He turned the car off and pulled out the key, swinging open the car door and stepping out into the night. Tweek copied him, exiting the car on his side.

Craig motioned for him to follow as he walked up the sidewalk towards his front door. The motion light kicked on, illuminating the two of them as they approached it. Pulling out another key, Craig unlocked the door. He turned to Tweek, looking over him.

"You've got mud caked all over your feet." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "That's right. You don't wear shoes."

Tweek looked down at his hooves and let out an embarrassed chuckle. There was mud embedded into his leg fur, and he was leaving little hoof-prints on the sidewalk leading up to the house. "Agh..."

Craig pushed open the front door. "Well, you'll just have to get cleaned up. But you're not walking all over my carpet like that, so... can you like, fly or something?"

"Ah.. not that precisely, no..."

"Ugh. Okay, then.. I can..." he trailed off as he thought. "...I'm gonna pick you up, okay? Don't flip shit."

"Agh... o-okay..." Tweek mumbled. Craig scooped up the demon bridal-style and he let out a small squeak before he was carried inside and the door was shut behind him.

"Welcome to my house," the pastor announced in a flat tone as he took off his shoes at the front. "You can have a tour after you get cleaned up." Tweek nodded as his eyes scanned the room. There were lots of things he didn't recognize. The house smelled of Craig. He was so close to him right then; in his arms he found it hard to breathe.

He was carried down a hallway and into a room of some sort. "This is my bedroom," Craig commented upon seeing the confusion in Tweek's eyes.

"This is what sleeping rooms look like now? Agh, wow.."

"Yeah." Craig continued on, taking Tweek into a much different, smaller room that branched off from his bedroom. It was adorned with tile and other strange contraptions. "And this is this bathroom."

"Ah.."

Craig placed the imp down on the edge of his bathtub. "Don't move." He turned on the faucet and water started pouring out. Tweek watched in amazement. He occasionally stuck his hand under the water, testing it to see how warm it was. When it was adequate enough, he plugged the drain and the tub started to fill up.

"This is very different from anything I know."

"You'll get used to it all," he replied without thinking. "Here, stick your legs in the water."

Tweek hesitantly complied, at first tapping the water with the bottom of his foot before gently submerging them. "Ah.. warm.."

"Is it too hot?"

"No, no.. it feels nice. I'm just not used to it."

"Ah." A question came to mind as he watched the demon. "Can you feel much with those.. claw..hoof things? Like pain or temperature?"

"Not like human toes, no. It's kinda like.. ah... well.. you don't have horns or claws or anything... so how do I explain this.. agh.." He swirled a foot around in the water as he thought to himself. The mud was starting to come off, clouding up the water. "You know how you can like.. feel a little bit with your teeth but mostly because they're attached to you? Similar with your fingernails...?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Kinda like that, I suppose?"

"I think I get it. So it's like having teeth for toes."

"Well.. agh.. maybe?" Tweek shook his head, sighing. "It's hard to explain something to someone who has never and can't ever experience the thing."

"True. But I'll try my best to understand anyways." Craig looked down at the water, grimacing. "You got yourself really fucking dirty, dude. I'm almost impressed. But I guess you can't help it that your legs are covered in fur."

"I remember when I had human ones, like you. Faintly."

"Is it weird to have those?"

"Not anymore. I'm used to them."

"Ah." Craig's amber eyes scanned over the demon, then himself. "Our clothes are soaked and dirty. Let me put them in the washing machine."

"You have a machine that washes clothes for you?"

"And one that dries them, yeah."

"Woah."

"Well? Are you going to take off your shirt so I can wash it? I can't imagine sitting there in a cold, wet shirt is pleasant. It's not for me." He gestured to his own soaked attire.

"Ah.. right." Tweek fiddled with the buttons, trying to get them undone, but was having trouble due to his shaky hands and claw-like nails. "Agh..."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just.. ah.. having a hard time getting these buttons undone."

Without thinking, Craig leaned down and began unbuttoning his shirt for him. Tweek looked up at him in surprise, then back down to his hands as he watched him fiddle with the shirt.

"Do you ever take this thing off?"

"...Not really. It's like you with your hat, I suppose..." the demon mumbled shyly. "It's not like demons bathe regularly... since we lack a lot of the same bodily processes as humans usually..."

"Gotcha." Craig undid all the buttons and peeled his wet shirt off his frame. Getting his wings to go through the slits in his shirt was a challenge, but he eventually got it off. "You even have wing holes in your shirt. Haha."

"Y-Yeah." Tweek pulled his wings in and pressed them against his back as the air touched his skin. He was growing rather self-conscious about having his body exposed. Craig hadn't even processed it at all; he was folding up the shirt as he stood back up. His gaze flicked to Tweek for a moment, then the shirt in his hands, then back to the demon once more.

_I just stripped him and didn't even think twice about it. He's technically naked right now. Oh my god_ , Craig thought to himself as his heart rate spiked. _Don't look at him, Craig. Don't do it._ Despite his thoughts of protest, he couldn't help but look over Tweek's thin body. He really was pretty frail looking. His ribs could be seen rather easily, along with his collar bone, spine, and hip bones. _Fuck_. The way the demon parts seemed to blend into his human skin intrigued him as well. It was hard to believe he was real at a glance. Craig cleared his throat and adverted his gaze.

"Have you always been that..."

"...Skinny? Yeah."

"Does it hurt?"

"No. It stopped when I died. This is just how it is now."

"Ah." Craig said nothing else, not wanting to pry more and make him uncomfortable. He leaned over and grabbed a bottle of shampoo, holding it out to Tweek. "Here's some liquid soap. You just pour some into your hands and then work it into your hair. Or, fur in this case. Then you rinse it off in the water."

"Thank you..." Tweek mumbled, lightly taking the bottle.

"I'm going to go get the wash started. I'll be right back, but holler if you need anything."

"A-Alright."

Craig gave him a curt nod before slipping out of the bathroom. As soon as he was out of sight, he clutched his chest and let out a sigh. _What has gotten into you, Craig?_ he thought to himself. He was feeling rather flustered, which was something that rarely happened. He was infamous for being blunt and cold, even as a kid, but around this frail little demon he found his mind was unable to think clearly.

The youth pastor shook his head to clear his thoughts and went off to start the laundry. He took off his own wet clothes, tossing them into the wash along with Tweek's shirt. He made sure to put it on the gentlest setting, as he had no idea how old that shirt actually was and if it could even handle a wash like that. He'd hate to damage one of Tweek's only personal possessions. He stood there in his boxers, lost in thought for a moment before he was snapped out of it as a yelp came from the bathroom. He quickly threw on a robe that had been sitting in a basket of clean clothing he'd been too lazy to put away yet and rushed back to where he left Tweek.

He found the demon curled up in a ball in the tub. The water had drained, and somehow, the shower had turned on. His wings were spread out to shield him from the water.

"Tweek? You okay?"

"Agh..! I think I broke it..! It's blasting me with cold water..!"

Craig was tempted to give an amused chuckle, but didn't want to be cruel. He leaned over and turned the handle over to the warm water side. "You didn't break it, you just turned the shower on."

"Agh....!"

"Just stand up and it'll stop spraying you in the face."

The demon quickly stood up, quite flustered.

"See? Isn't that better? It's kinda like concentrated rain."

"Y-Yes." He relaxed a little, slowly lowering his wings.

"Well, since you're already in there, you might as well clean the rest of yourself up." He pointed to the shampoo, then to a different bottle. "This one is for hair, and this one is for skin."

"Ah.. okay."

"There's towels right beside the shower when you're finished. Just call me when you're done."

The demon nodded and Craig left, deciding to make some sort of midnight snack for them. He let out a yawn as he decided to microwave a couple easy-macs. It was simple, small, and warm. He heard Tweek calling for him a few minutes later and went back to him, finding the demon drying off his hair as he stood outside the shower on the shower rug.

"Did I do it right?"

"I'd assume so. How do you feel?"

"..Clean." He pulled the towel away from his hair, it springing back up to its normal, messy self. "I feel... light. Bathing was a luxury when I was alive, and nonexistent in hell."

"Well then I'm sure that shower felt pretty damn good." He motioned with his hand for Tweek to follow him as he exited the bathroom. "Your shirt is still being cleaned. Do you want to borrow one of mine?"

"Ah.. sure."

Craig entered his room and began digging through his dresser. "Hm.. here we go." He tossed over a t-shirt to the demon. "It doesn't have any wing holes, hope that's okay for now."

Tweek nodded and held up his arms, wrapping his wings around his scrawny frame like a demon burrito before sliding the shirt on. It was very baggy on him, hanging to one side and exposing his shoulder. It was a faded dark blue with some stars and planets on the front. _It was not cute at all. Definitely not._

"Well that takes care of that, then. How're you feeling?"

"Agh... I'm a little overwhelmed... so many new things happening at once... so much pressure..." he mumbled as he looked around, taking in all the details of Craig's bedroom.

That was understandable. Craig nodded, motioning for him to follow him out of the room. "Let's just sit you down and have some shitty late night mac and cheese, then. It's part of the Craig Tucker lifestyle."

"Tucker?"

"That's my last name."

"Oh." Tweek thought for a moment as he followed him. "I might've had one of those at some point. I.. can't remember."

"With a first name like Tweek, you don't need a last name. Anyone could recognize you from just that."

The imp gave a small laugh as he was led into Craig's living room. He curiously looked over the furniture.

"Have a seat on the couch while I go get the mac," the pastor suggested, pointing to the thing Tweek had internally deemed the 'long chair' upon seeing it. The demon looked around the room. He saw a few pictures on the wall, but he didn't know what to make of them. One was a picture of what looked like the night sky, there were a few of some sort of weird looking rat creature, and there was one of Craig standing with some other human. A younger looking girl with red hair, to be exact. He didn't know who that was at first, then recalled what one of the first things Craig had told him was when they started talking in the attic of the church, which seemed like so long ago now. That was likely the little sister he had lost. His ears perked up as he heard the human messing around in the room behind him, causing him to curiously crane his head around to see what he was doing.

Craig was quietly humming to himself as he appeared to be stirring something in a weird room adorned with lots of small wooden cabinets and other machinery. That was a kitchen, Tweek assumed. A modern one, anyway. Everything was so different from what he knew. He fidgeted on the couch, not quite sure what to do with himself while he waited for the pastor to come back. He noted that the weird, long chair was very comfortable and soft. Hell, everything was soft. Even the floor seemed to be covered in some sort of soft substance in most places.

"Craig?" Tweek called to him.

"Yeah?"

"Do you like soft things?"

"Yeah?" he replied, confusion evident in his voice. He waited for an explanation but none ever came, Tweek just returned to sitting quietly.

The demon reached up and patted his own head, as Craig had done to him that day he woke him up in the attic. He was perplexed by the gesture, he'd never experienced anything like it before. His hair did feel nice from the shower, though. He reached down and patted the fur on his legs as well. Also nice and soft now, he noted.

"What was that about?" Craig asked as he entered the room, carrying two small cups of some sort.

"Huh?"

"Why'd you ask me if I liked soft things?"

"Oh.. I.. well, I dunno. You just have a lot of soft things. Blankets.. clothing... agh.. I dunno." He reached up and twiddled with his hair. "Is that why you touch my hair?"

"Wha? Oh. I mean... I didn't.. think you were... awake. When I did that, that is."

"Why'd you do that?"

"Shit, Tweek, I dunno. Sometimes you just do things on impulse. I just felt like doing it. It's calming."

"Ah..." He lowered his hand and rested it on his lap. "Am I soft?"

"Oh my god, dude," Craig sighed, sitting down beside him and handing a cup of macaroni and a spoon to him. "Yes? I suppose since half of you is covered in fur, that makes you softer than the average person. I don't understand the point of you asking me this."

"If I'm soft and you like soft things, does that mean you like me?"

Craig, in the middle of taking a bite of his food, coughed violently as it caught him off guard and caused him to swallow on accident. "What?!"

"I am simply trying to understand your motivations, Craig. Did I say something wrong again?"

The pastor rubbed his eyes with the pads of this thumb and index finger and let out a defeated laugh after clearing his throat. "That's such a weird way to ask, Tweek. But of course I like you, dumbass. Thought that was implied by now," he answered quickly before averting his gaze and letting out a huff.

"Ah..." Tweek looked over at Craig, who was now angrily shoveling macaroni into his mouth out of embarrassment. The demon gave a small smile, his tail wagging back and forth. "Thank you, Craig. But I don't understand why you'd say that."

"Hm?"

"Well, no one's ever liked me before. I never had a friend or anyone who cared about me, even when I was alive. So I guess it's.. hard for me to understand, agh..."

"No one..?"

Tweek shook his head and took a bite of his own macaroni. It was pretty mediocre as Craig had mentioned earlier, but he found he kept eating it anyways. The warmness was nice.

Craig's heart sank, as it had often started doing when Tweek talked about his past. He had no idea what his human life was like or how it ended, but he could fill in that it wasn't good. "Hold on a sec," he told the demon as he stood up and set his cup down, shuffling off back into his bedroom. Tweek watched him go in confusion, worried he might've upset the youth pastor with something he had said.

Upon Craig's return, Tweek started to apologize but was cut off as he hushed the anxious demon. "I've got two things. One." He draped the infamous blue comforter from his bed onto Tweek, wrapping him up like a burrito but still letting his head and arms poke out so he could eat his questionable pasta.

"Ah.. thank you, Craig," the imp mumbled as the familiar shroud of comfort cloaked him. It still smelled heavily of Craig, but was cleaner. He couldn't help but snuggle into it, looking up at the raven-haired man with curiosity shining in his green-blue eyes.

"And number two..." Craig held up something small, round, and furry. White with brown splotches to be exact. It poked up its head and Tweek flinched a little from surprise. It was some sort of rodent like the ones he saw in the picture frames. It was larger than a mouse, but smaller than a rabbit.

"What is that..?"

"This is Stripe. She's my pet guinea pig and is one of the most important living beings on the planet."

"Woah.. she's so cute." The demon stared at the potato shaped rodent curiously. "Is she going to bite me?"

"Only if you deserve it. Do you... want to hold her?"

"H-Hold her? Agh..! That sounds like a lot of pressure..! She could hate me.. or I could drop her...!"

"You'll be fine, Tweek. Just hold out your hands."

The demon complied hesitantly, holding out his two hands. Craig gently set Stripe down. "Now you be good, Stripe."

"Ah..!" Tweek tensed up, like he was waiting for her to latch onto his face or something. When the guinea pig simply looked around, its nose twitching as it sniffed Tweek, he started to calm down. "H-Hello... Stripe... I'm Tweek... I'm not going to hurt you so just.. stay like that... agh..."

Stripe shifted, turning around to look up at Tweek with her beady black eyes.

"Ah..! She tickles..!" He blinked and stared back at her. "What's she doing..?"

"She's judging whether or not you are worthy of being in her household by assessing the goodness levels in your soul."

"Really?? Ahh...! No...! I'm a demon...! I have a disadvantage..! Stripe..!"

"Shh, I'm only kidding. She's just checking you out."

"Agh.. not nice, Craig..." he pouted. Stripe let out a squeak and crawled off of Tweek's hand, going up his arm until she parked herself on his chest, just inches away from his face. The demon looked to Craig helplessly with fear in his eyes. It was a little amusing to see Tweek, a creature from hell, terrified of a cute little guinea pig if Craig was to be honest with himself. Tweek let out a confused whine. "What is she doing now..?!"

"Just relax. I think she likes you."

"R-Really..?" he asked as he looked down at her, having to go a little cross-eyed to do so.

"Yeah. If she didn't, she would've tried to get away."

"You're right... ah..." The guinea pig let out another squeak and nuzzled against Tweek's chin. He stared down at her with a look of wonder in his eyes before shifting his gaze to Craig. "I want to protect this small animal and cherish her for as long as she lives."

"Heh. That's the Stripe Effect for you. I couldn't agree more." He couldn't hide the smile on his face. The scene was almost too much for his heart.

"Your face is red, Craig. Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine. Just tired." He looked over the two. "But, Tweek, look. Now you've got two friends."

"Two? Do you have another guinea pig?" he asked.

"...No. I'm the second person."

"Oh..! Wow.." He adverted his gaze.

"Now you're the one turning red."

"Ahh...!"

"Hah. But really. If a little guinea pig like Stripe likes you, you ought to be good, don't you think?"

"Me..? Good..?"

"Yeah."

"A good.. demon," he repeated, as if he was trying to make sure he heard correctly.

"Yep. You're a good demon, Tweek. Well, wait. You're a bad demon."

"Wha..?"

"You're a bad demon because you're a good person, that's what I'm trying to say. I genuinely have no clue how you became a demon."

Tweek blushed and said nothing, busying himself by gingerly petting Stripe with a finger. "...That's a story for another day," he finally replied.

Craig nodded and let out a yawn. "Alright. It's like three in the morning. Some of us require shut-eye every night." He stood up, picking up their dishes. "You can keep playing with Stripe, but she does need to sleep soon. Please be careful with her. One of her cages is right over there." He pointed to a smaller, but well decorated cage full of tubes and other small toys. It was her play cage, but Craig didn't want to be disturbed by having Tweek return her to her main cage in his room when he was sleeping. "Put her in there at some point. I trust you with her."

"O-Okay." The demon nodded. "That's a lot of pressure, but.. I think I can manage."

"Good." Craig smiled. "Do you need anything else? There's some pillows on the couch already... I guess you can use my comforter since I doubt you're gonna give it up... you can sleep here." He patted the couch. "It's not a bed but I use it as one all the time."

"I'm good, t-thank you."

"Alright. Goodnight then, Tweek."

"Goodnight, Craig..!"

The demon was left to play with the beloved guinea pig as Craig sauntered off to his bedroom. He took a quick shower and laid down in his own bed. It was now blanket-less, but at least he had sheets. His mind was buzzing with lots of thoughts. Father Dixon came to mind. The man was still missing, and no one had seen or heard anything about him ever since that night he vanished. He had been officially declared missing a while ago and the police were on the case, but it was kept a secret so the townspeople would not panic. Craig had spent many nights after leaving the church driving out to look for him, or researching online, but had eventually given up. The man had vanished without a trace. He wondered what he'd say about Tweek if he returned. In a weird way, he was almost glad the older pastor was gone. If he was around, it was likely that Tweek never would've been captured for study. He would've been killed. Or, if he had been captured, there was no way he would've escaped or befriended Craig. He probably would've still been suffering in that basement. The thought upset him greatly. Tweek deserved none of that. He couldn't imagine what the past few months would've been like if he had never befriended him. That quirky little creature was in his life now and frankly, he was happy about it. Thinking more about Tweek, he wondered if the demon was happy being here. Maybe he wanted to go back to hell, or at least planned to at some point out of obligation. The way he talked about the place made it seem like he disliked it though. Maybe Tweek would prefer to remain here. Forever. Maybe Craig would ask him if he wanted to stay sometime. With him. _Just maybe_.

The pastor let out a soft sigh and closed his eyes, resting a hand on his heart. Tweek had changed his life and he had no idea how to begin to even figure out what all his thoughts and feelings were. He wanted to show him the world and learn more about him. _What the hell have you done to me, Tweek?_ Craig wondered.


	16. Chapter 16

In the morning, Craig sleepily shuffled out into the living room to see Tweek fast asleep on the couch with Stripe, who was being cradled in his arms. She was sleeping as well. The scene was so peaceful that it made Craig's heart feel warm. He pulled out his phone and quietly snapped a photo before gently removing Stripe from his arms. As cute as it was, he had asked him to put her away. If she was out for too long, she would get anxious. Sleeping while she was out was also a risk, as she could always wander off and get lost in the house somewhere. Tweek let out a soft whine and stirred slightly, but did not wake up. Craig smiled and left him to sleep, returning Stripe to her cage and deciding to brew some coffee for the two of them.

 

Tweek peeled open his eyes as the familiar scent of coffee filled his nose. He sat up, letting out a yawn and rubbing his eyes. He looked up to see Craig standing there with two mugs. "Ah..!" he let out a small gasp of surprise upon noticing him.

"Morning. Sleep well?" he greeted, holding out the coffee to Tweek. He had some sort of goofy smile on his face as he looked down at him. The demon gingerly took the coffee and smiled back up at him.

"Yes... very well." It was probably the best sleep he'd ever had in his whole life in all actuality. He wasn't on the floor in an attic or on a wooden bench, or in a cramped cave in the pits of hell. He was safe and comfortable in a home with someone who cared about him, something he'd never had even in life. He explained that to the pastor, whose smile faded.

"God, Tweek..." He sat down beside him.

"Sorry I made you sad, agh..."

"Don't be. I'm sorry you didn't have a good life. And afterlife too."

Tweek put a hand over his heart and shook his head. "It's not like that anymore, so don't worry." He hid his face and let out a soft sigh, his tail lashing back and forth. "B-Because of you... it's good now.. so don't feel bad..."

Craig swore his heart stopped for a moment. _Fuck_. He leaned over and rested his hand on Tweek's head. "Hah.. Don't spill your coffee now," was all he could manage to say. The demon uncovered his face and took a small sip, gently leaning his head over to allow Craig to touch him. He was a happy demon. A very happy demon indeed.

"T-Thank you, Craig," he replied quietly.

"Say... I have to run some errands today. Want to come with..? No church stuff for me today, for once."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"How would I... oh..!" He stood up, setting down his coffee. "I can appear human now!" He went to snap his finger, but paused. "Wait... I don't have pants."

"Oh my god. Okay, hold on." Craig shuffled off to the laundry room, digging through his basket of clean clothing to find something that would even remotely fit Tweek. He came across a pair of skinny jeans that had shrunk too much for him to wear that always sat at the bottom of that damn laundry basket, as he ignored them every single time he did laundry. _That might work_ , he thought as he picked them up, looking over them. He had no idea why he even purchased them in the first place, he hated having to wear restrictive clothing all the time for his work, so why would he continue to do so in his free time? He also went and retrieved Tweek's shirt that he'd washed the night prior. Thankfully, it remained completely intact.

Craig returned to the living room, presenting the clothes to Tweek. "We can get you some proper clothes while we're out today, so you'll just have to deal with this for now."

Tweek lightly took the clothing, looking over his shirt curiously. "Woah.. it's so clean..! I forgot that it was more green than grey at one point..."

"That's a little gross."

"I know..."

"Well, go on and get dressed. You can change in the bathroom for some privacy."

"A-Alright." Tweek headed into the bathroom and closed the door.

Meanwhile, Craig began getting himself dressed. He slid on a pair of baggy black jeans and was in the process of trying to find a shirt to wear in his dresser when Tweek emerged from the bathroom.

"Agh, it's been so long since I've had to wear pants that I forgot how to put them on for a second..." he mumbled, trailing off as he locked eyes with Craig. "Oops, I should've said something before I came in..." He couldn't help but glance at the pastor's shirtless body before quickly adverting his gaze. He wasn't muscular by any means, but he was well built. He was lean and had a tattoo of a crescent moon on the left side of his chest where his heart was, surrounded by a couple stars.

Meanwhile, Craig was speechless as he looked at Tweek. His horns were gone, along with his sharp teeth and pointed ears. He had no wings or claws either, but what stood out to Craig the most was he had perfectly normal human legs. No fur, no hooves, no spaded tail. He looked like a perfectly normal human.

"Craig..? Does this look okay?"

"..Yeah. Sorry, I was just surprised. You look great, Tweek."

"Do I look that much different..?"

Craig studied him before shaking his head. "You still look like you, just without horns and stuff. I'm just not used to it is all."

"Ah..." Tweek pointed to the tattoo on Craig's chest. "What's this?"

"It's a tattoo." He put a finger to his mouth. "But shh, I'm not supposed to have it. I must be pure in mind, heart, and body." He cracked a grin. "I'm none of those things."

"Oh my... well, neither am I... obviously. Can I.. touch it?"

"Uh.. go for it." It was a little awkward, but he could understand Tweek's curiosity. He'd probably never seen a tattoo like his before.

Craig's heart stopped as the demon gently reached out and ran his fingers along the intricate ink-work, taking it all in with interest. It made his skin tingle.

"It doesn't wipe off?" the demon questioned.

"No, it's permanent. Humans do some pretty weird stuff to their bodies. Injecting ink into their skin with needles or other sharp objects to make pictures on their body happens to be one of them."

"Ah.. wow... you have pictures in your skin.. Why the moon, though?"

"I love space. It was a drawing my little sister did for me before she.."

"Ah.." Tweek rested his hand against the tattoo. "It's very nice. Thank you for telling me about it." Craig wondered if he could feel how hard his heart was beating.

"Thank you for appreciating it. I don't think a soul knows it exists besides the person who tattooed it on me. But c'mon, let's get going." He quickly pulled out a random black shirt and slid it on, followed by his signature blue hat and blue overcoat. They weren't the same ones from when he was a kid, but he'd always liked the way they looked on him so he didn't change his style much. He tossed his yellow scarf to Tweek.

"It's cold out there. Take this."

"Ah.. thank you, Craig." He bundled himself up and tilted his head. "Like this, right?"

"Yup. Is that enough to keep you warm or do you need something else?"

"I should be okay. Thank you, though."

  
They headed outside. Tweek was stumbling behind him a bit as he got used to walking with human legs, as even though he had the power to turn his physical appearance human, imps were not allowed to do so in hell so he'd never really gotten the chance to do it much.

The pale light of morning shone down on them. Tweek took it all in with interest, commenting on how pretty the sky was.

"How come we're out so early in the morning?" the demon asked.

"Well, I figure we can walk instead of drive."

"Doesn't that take longer?"

"Yes, but it's good for you. Plus, you know... it's something we could do together, yeah?"

"Ah, I see." He nervously quickened his pace, trying to catch up to Craig. "It's really okay for me to be outside..?"

"Sure it is. If it wasn't, I wouldn't have invited you to come with me, would I?"

"Agh, this is all so much..." he mumbled. "Just yesterday, I was confined to the church..."

"If you're too overwhelmed, I can take you back home."

"No, no. I'm okay."

It was obvious he was nervous, so Craig slowed his pace and fell in place beside him on the sidewalk. "We're not gonna go anywhere crazy. Just the Walmart for groceries and we can pick up some stuff for you there too. Maybe go somewhere for lunch or coffee or something if you're up for it."

"Craig..."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. But I-I, agh, can't help but feel a little guilty that you're doing all these things for me. I'm not... deserving of it, especially when I have nothing to give you in return," he admitted.

"That's not true at all, Tweek. I think you've given me plenty."

"What? Agh, I don't understand! I didn't have anything besides this shirt when I came here..! You've given me food, clothing, shelter... and, ah..." he trailed off, looking away. "P-Plenty more things."

"Well, I did treat you like shit when we first met," he sighed. "Sorry about that."

"So this is all your way of saying sorry for that..?"

"No, no. I don't have any ulterior motives like that, Tweek. I don't think anything I could do would ever truly make amends for what I put you through back then." He jammed his fists in the pockets of his jacket and looked up at the sky. "I do this simply because I want to. It's just... what you do when you care about someone. You don't even think twice about it, you know?"

"I... didn't have the chance to care about anyone. The way I lived, it didn't, ah, allow for that. I didn't have anyone around me to even care for. So I... I dunno..."

Craig shifted his gaze back over to the demon, feeling a pang of sadness in him. "No one?"

"No one... agh, until now...!" He balled up his fists and looked away. "And it's a lot of pressure!"

"Tweek." The pastor put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump. "It's okay. You don't need to feel pressured to do anything for me. You're fine the way you are."

"But you've done so much for me, agh..!"

"When you care about someone, you do things for them because you want to, you don't expect anything in return. But like I said, you've given me plenty."

"L-Like what..?"

"Oh, well, you know..." he mumbled, taking his hand off the boy's thin shoulder.

"Craig..?"

The black haired man grew silent, his gaze adverting to look at the sidewalk.

"Agh, you were just saying those things to be nice, weren't y-

Tweek was cut off as Craig grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him into his arms.

"...ou...? C-Craig..?"

"I'm not good with words, okay?"

"You're a pastor, it's your job to be..!"

"Well.. okay. You got me there. But like, I'm not good with... talking about... feelings... so just..." He let out a sigh. "You've given me something better than any physical possession."

"W-Wha...?"

"You've given me someone to care about."

"Agh...!" He let out a small whine and hugged Craig back. He was shaking a little. "You've done that for me too... that's why I want to give you things...!"

"You're plenty, you dumb demon. I keep telling you that."

"Craig..."

"I mean, you could always give me your soul if you're so _hell-_ bent on giving me something."

"I don't even know if I have one!"

"Sure you do."

"E-Even if I might.. it's my job to take them, not give them..!"

Craig let go of him, placing his hands on his shoulders and holding him away at arms length so he could get a look at him. Tweek was super flustered, meekly looking up at him. "Well, I'll just have to give you mine in return. Then we'll be even."

"Craig..!"

The youth pastor smirked and ruffled up the blonde-headed boy's hair, chuckling. "C'mon, let's get to the store."


	17. Chapter 17

The Walmart proved to be pretty overwhelming to Tweek, who was quite afraid of every other human in the vicinity of the store. But, he was equally intrigued by all of the goods available. Craig picked up the groceries he needed while letting Tweek pick out some foods he wanted to try.

"C-Craig?"

"Yeah?"

"What are cupcakes?"

"Well... they're kinda what the name implies. They're just small cakes with icing on them. Why?"

"Do you like them?"

"Sure, they're good."

"M-May I.. make you some..?" the demon asked, holding up a box of cupcake mix. "It has all the instructions on the back so I can do it myself..!"

"They sell already baked cupcakes, you know. Look." Craig pointed over to a box of cupcakes sitting on the shelf. The pre-made ones were never as good as the homemade ones because of all the preservatives and chemicals, but they were more convenient.

"But.. I wanna make them.. for you..." he mumbled.

Craig was worried the demon might make a mess or catch something on fire, but at the same time he was quite curious as to how well he'd fare. "Hell, why not? Sure." Tweek lit up at his consent.

"Really...?"

"Yeah, toss it in the cart."

Eventually, the pair completed the rest of their shopping adventure. Craig let Tweek pick out some clothes for himself amongst all the normal things he needed to get.

"Alright, all done. What did you think?" Craig asked as they headed out after paying for their things.

"It was very... interesting. There was nothing like this when I was alive..." the demon observed.

"I remember the first time I went into a Walmart when I was a kid. I almost got lost in there."

"It's a never-ending labyrinth of goods..."

"Pretty much." Craig chuckled as he shifted all the bags he was carrying to one hand, to free up his other. "You wanna get coffee now? Or we can head home if you've met your new things quota for the day. I promise Starbucks is way less crowded and maze-like."

"Agh.. I don't mind..!"

-

"I've never seen so many types of coffee before..." Tweek mumbled as he read over the menu. Reading current English and understanding dialect was a bit of a challenge for him, but Craig was teaching him as best he could.

"Yup. People love their coffee."

"Agh... I don't know what kind to get..!"

"Want the usual or something new? You've just been drinking black coffee this whole time."

"Ah.. new...?"

"How about a sweet coffee? Like a mocha?"

"Mocha?"

"It's got chocolate in it."

"Oh..! Can I try that then?" Tweek loved sweets. Though his favorite thing was coffee, that demon could inhale candy like no one else. Giving him a package of individually wrapped chocolates and watching him carefully unwrap each one and eat them was something Craig had enjoyed at the church on multiple occasions. He would sit there and make sure he didn't rip the foil until he got too impatient and would then proceed to tear everything to shreds with his nails and gorge on the chocolate.

"Sure. I'll go order, you stay here."

"R-Right."

"Be back in a second." Craig got up and gave him a quick pat on the head before shuffling off to get in line to order. Tweek nervously watched him leave, then looked around the shop. The people inside were acting normally, chatting and drinking their coffee. No screaming, no fire, no blood. He felt a bit out of place, but no one seemed to pay him any attention. That wouldn't be the case if he hadn't hidden his demon parts, he thought to himself. They'd probably all treat him like a monster. In a sense, he was, but he wouldn't do a thing to hurt anyone. He remembered Craig's praises of his character fondly. All the nice things Craig said to him made his heart fluttery. He didn't know what the feeling was exactly, but he liked it. _Maybe I'll ask him about it sometime,_ he thought to himself.

The demon was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of someone sitting in the chair across from his at the small table Craig had told him to sit at. He looked up, expecting to see the pastor but was caught off guard when a complete stranger filled his vision. It was a girl, looking to be an adult on the young side.

"Hi there, stranger. What's a cutie like you doing sitting all alone in here? You waiting on someone?" she asked in a flirtatious tone.

Tweek's brain could not figure out what to do for a moment as he stared at the girl. She was intimidating and very forward. He did not have any experience in talking to anyone besides Craig.

"H-Hello...?" he managed to mumble, though it sounded more like he was asking a question than greeting her. "I'm just... waiting for someone..." he answered, glancing over to Craig who was chatting with the cashier, oblivious to the scene taking place behind him. Tweek vaguely recognized him, as he attended the church frequently.

"Boo, that's no fun. I bet a date with me would be way more fun than talking to whoever you're waiting for~" the girl hummed, resting her chin on her palm as she leaned closer to Tweek.

_"A-A date..?" Tweek echoed. Agh, she's trying to start a romance with me!_ he panicked internally. _This is way too much pressure!_

Craig gave a brief explanation of how romance worked in the twenty-first century one time after they watched a romance movie. Well, Tweek watched it and Craig took a nap, occasionally waking up to answer questions.

"Yeah! I think you're super cute, definitely not one of those annoying jock dudes." The girl gave a smile. Though her words were kind, they made Tweek rather uncomfortable.

"Agh, well, thank you, but I-

"Tweek? Who's this?" the familiar voice of Craig interrupted him. He looked up to see the pastor carrying two cups of coffee with some sort of pastry, looking down at the two of them in confusion and what almost looked like a twinge of hostility.

"Ah, its uh.. I.. dunno...! She just k-kinda sat down and asked if I wanted t-to go on, uh, a date..."

"This is who you were waiting for?" the girl questioned, eyeing Craig up and down. "You're that pastor who works down at the church. Talk about lame."

"Hey..! He's not lame..!" Tweek protested as he felt anger flare up within him at the girl's diss.

"Easy, Tweek." Craig held up a hand to quiet the demon and gazed down at the girl cooly. "Yes, I am that pastor and I happen to be the person he's waiting for."

"Your name's Tweek, huh? Well, how about I give you my phone number, Tweek? We can go on a date some other time," she suggested.

"Ah, well, y-you see, I'm, ah, kinda-

"He's taken," Craig grunted.

-..on a.. date.." Tweek mumbled.

The girl looked between the two and cocked a brow. "..Oh." She cleared her throat and stood up briskly. "Well, uh... I gotta go. Bye now!" She quietly turned heel and scuttled out of the shop.

The two watched her leave before looking at each other with a mix of surprise and confusion. Craig sat down and placed Tweek's coffee in front of him.

"On a date?" the raven haired man asked.

"Taken..? What does that mean..?"

"Oh, uh, it means you're in a relationship," Craig stammered.

"Oh. I am?" Tweek tilted his head. "A-A romantic one..?"

"I just..! Told her that so she'd leave you alone," the pastor defended, taking a sip of his coffee before continuing. "You told her you were on a date."

"Ah, well... I suppose I was trying to get her to leave as well. Though, from what you told me, this is like a date, isn't it?"

"Wha?"

"A date is when two people who like each other go out to spend time together, right? That's what we're doing," Tweek observed.

"W-Well, I mean..." Craig coughed and averted his gaze for a moment. "Anyway. How'd you get a girl asking you out in the five minutes I was gone?"

"I-I dunno..! I was just, agh, sitting here like you told me to, and she just came and sat down and started talking to me..! She told me I was cute and said I should go on a date with her..." the demon mumbled, fidgeting nervously in his seat.

Craig tried his best to hide the grimace that threatened to reveal itself on his face. What Tweek said made his chest tighten. It upset him, but he couldn't understand why. "Ah."

"I did not like it when she said mean things to you, though. That made me really angry. Why would she say that? I thought you were respected?"

"Not everyone likes religion," Craig replied simply. "Or me."

"Ah.." Tweek remained quiet for a moment. "But.. she made me uncomfortable. Especially when she called me cute and asked me to go on a date with her. I did not like it at all. Which is very strange, since those are typically nice things! Why is that?"

"Guess she wasn't your type." Craig shrugged, trying his best to brush off the question. Thinking about people trying to hit on his demon companion pissed him off. Maybe because he was one of his only friends and he didn't want anyone taking him away from him?

"Hm... but... I liked it when you said I was cute." He tilted his head. "Do you remember?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"You can say it. No one else, though," he concluded before taking a sip of his coffee. Craig felt his heart skip a beat but he quickly brushed it off, choosing to change the subject.

"How's the mocha? You like it?"

"Yeah, it's nice. It combines chocolate and coffee..."

"Perfect for you then, huh?"

"Yeah, especially, ah, because I get to spend time with you while I drink it." He gave a small smile before focusing on downing his drink.

_Fuck_ , Craig thought to himself. _The hell kind of sorcery is this? "_ Well, that's good. Oh, I also got us a croissant to share. It's bread." He tore it in half and presented a piece to Tweek, who gently took it and observed it.

"Oh..? Ah, thank you.." He took a bite and tilted his head. "That is good."

"I always get one when I go to starbucks." He thought for a moment before continuing. "We should come here again. More often. Or other places, I dunno. Just out."

"If it means I get to spend time with you, then that sounds wonderful. Hehe..."


	18. Chapter 18

They engaged in small talk for a time as finished up their coffee, then proceeded to head home.

"Craig..?" Tweek asked while he watched the pastor put away groceries.

"Yeah?"

"Is it okay if I go back to my... demon self..? Or do you like the human-looking me better..?"

"Of course you can. You don't need to ask me permission for that." He noticed that Tweek always asked him for permission to do things. He wondered if it was just because he was polite and didn't want to do anything to upset Craig, or if it was ingrained in him due to centuries of being a low class demon servant and he was afraid doing anything of his own accord would warrant a punishment. He hoped the demon was comfortable around him regardless and knew that he was safe with him.

"Ah.. okay. I shall be right back." He shuffled off to the bathroom, taking off the shoes and jeans Craig had lent him. He breathed a sigh of relief as his wings sprung out of his back. He stretched out his goat legs and gave a flick of his tail as his body reverted back to its natural state. Holding the human form was exhausting and strange to him. He neatly folded and deposited the clothing in Craig's room before returning to the kitchen. Craig turned to see him as he heard the familiar click of Tweek's hooves on the hardwood floor. His expression softened as he took in the familiar sight of Tweek, demon again.

"You're free of the prison that is pants once more," he joked.

"Ah.. yes." Tweek shuffled his legs a little as his tail flicked back and forth. "It is nice, I admit."

"I used to ditch my pants every time I came home. Don't do it anymore, but hanging out on my couch in an oversized shirt and boxers while eating junk food and watching a movie with Stripe... it makes me soooo happy."

"Oh? I've never seen you do that."

"Well, I don't anymore. I lived alone so it didn't matter. I could run around the house naked if I wanted," he replied in a 'as a matter of fact' tone. "Not to say that I did that. But you're here so I wouldn't do that now." Tweek gave a small laugh to this comment.

"Do you have anything else you need to do today?" the demon asked.

"Nope. I'm as free as a bird for once."

"Can I make you those cupcake things that you got at the store..?" he asked hopefully.

"Oh yeah, sure. We can do that."

"But, agh, I wanna make them for you. If you help, it'll, ah, defeat the point..." Tweek mumbled. "You said I could back at the ah, Wal..mart?"

Craig scratched his head and gave a sigh. "Oh, right. Guess I did say that."

"So.. can I..?"

"Yeah, but let's just start off with a half batch in case you fuck up, since you won't let me help."

"Okay..."

"Not that I think you will. Just in case. I almost burnt my house down the first time I tried to bake by myself," he reassured, realizing his original comment was a little harsh. "But with a half batch, that means all your measurements are half what the box says. Keep that in mind."

"R-Right."

"Eggs and stuff are in the fridge. Bowls and mixer are in the cabinet over there." Craig patted him on the shoulder. "Holler if you need help. Really. I don't want you burning my house down because you were too stubborn to let me help a little. I don't mind helping."

"Agh.. okay..."

Craig nodded and shuffled out of the room, retrieving Stripe and depositing himself down on the couch to leave Tweek to his work.

  
Craig would occasionally swivel his head back to check on Tweek, who would give a whine in protest. He was very intent on it being a surprise. He eventually complied to not spying on him but couldn't help but listen to the various noises coming from the kitchen. Random clatter, the clicking of hooves on hardwood, and the occasional distressed whine had Craig a little nervous about these cupcakes.

"What's the status, Tweek?" he called to him.

"They're baking..! I'm making the frosting now...!"

"You all good in there?"

"Agh...! Yes!"

  
The smell of cake filled the house soon enough. Nothing seemed off, to Craig's relief. Tweek was quietly humming to himself as he decorated the cupcakes, having to be warned to let them cool before doing so. He couldn't help but sneak a glance at the demon as he worked. He didn't notice, as he was deep in concentration. His tongue even stuck out a little. Craig smiled fondly before resuming playing with Stripe. Tweek took his sweet time decorating those cupcakes. Like, way too long. What the hell was he doing?

"And... they're done!" Tweek finally exclaimed.

"Oh? Do I get to come look now?"

"Y-Yes..! B-But uh.. be nice.. I really tried..."

"I'm sure they're great. Let me put Stripe away real quick though."

After depositing his beloved guinea pig back in her cage, Craig entered the kitchen. Tweek was stood there, holding out a plate of cupcakes to him. He had somehow managed to get traces of the cake mix and frosting on his face and clothing and was giving a nervous smile.

"Ta-da..! What do you think..?"

Craig looked over the cupcakes and smiled. They were a little crudely decorated, but Tweek had done a decent job considering he'd never baked a thing in his life. They were vanilla with white frosting and rainbow sprinkles. It looked like he had taken the time to individually arrange each sprinkle to make patterns and designs on the cupcakes. "They look great, Tweek. Smell good too." He could not help but smirk as he gazed upon them.

The compliment made the demon beam excitedly. "Please try one, then..!"

"Alright, alright, don't get your tail in a twist." Craig selected the nicest looking one and made a show of slowly going in for the bite and occasionally pausing for dramatic effect, much to Tweek's dismay. He whined and stomped his hoof on the ground.

"So mean..! Please just eat it, agh... you're teasing me..."

"Heheh." Craig smirked and took a big chomp out of it. He was braced for something to be off, but to his surprise, it was a perfectly normal cupcake. He'd nailed it.

"So..? How is it..?" Tweek asked nervously, staring down Craig as he chewed. The pastor held up a finger to shush him as he ate.

"Ah.."

"Mn.. w-well..?"

"Tweek..."

"Yeah..?"

"That was..."

"Agh...! Bad...? Say it isn't so..!"

"It's great, Tweek." He smiled and patted him on the head with his free hand. "You did a great job. Thank you for making them for me."

"R-Really..?"

"Yeah. Try it for yourself."

Without warning, Tweek leaned in and took a bite of Craig's cupcake instead of grabbing his own to try. This took Craig off guard as his face suddenly got rather close to his, causing his heart to pound.

"Ah..! That is pretty good..!" the demon exclaimed in excitement, wagging his tail. "I did it..!"

"You've got frosting on your face."

"Huh?" Tweek went cross-eyed, as if he'd be able to see it. "Where..?"

"Your cheek. No, not there. Other cheek. Too high. To the right a little.. no, Tweek, that's your left. Tweek. Dude."

"Agh..!"

"Absolutely incredible," Craig retorted as he reached over and wiped off the frosting with the pad of his thumb before planting it in his own mouth without thinking.

"Ah.. t-thank you.." Tweek mumbled as he watched him with a light blush dusting his cheeks.

Craig blinked and quietly took his thumb out of his mouth, clearing his throat. "No problem. Uh.. how about before we eat more of these once we have some actual dinner first?"

"R-Right..! Okay..!"

  
After a very high class dinner of noodles and marinara sauce, the two settled down on the couch with a plate of cupcakes on the table in front of them and began watching a movie. Craig had switched into some more comfortable clothing and was now beginning to doze off. Tweek was even worse off, suffering from a sugar crash after mowing down a couple cupcakes and the rest of the extra icing he hadn't used. And all the sprinkles. _All of them_.

Suddenly, Craig felt a weight against his side. He snapped out of his sleepiness and looked down to see Tweek, who had fallen asleep and slumped over against his side. "Tweek..?" he whispered. No reply. His chest softly rose and fell as he snoozed silently. The look on his face was so peaceful that Craig couldn't find it in him to move him or wake him up. He accepted his fate and leaned his head over, resting it against Tweek's fluffy blonde hair, careful not to poke himself with his horns. He let out a sigh. Tweek was so warm and soft. It made his body turn to jelly.

They sat like that for a while before Craig's heart couldn't take it any longer and his shoulder began to ache from supporting Tweek's weight. He gently began to nudge him off so he could sneak away and go to sleep. Tweek let out a soft whine of protest in his sleep as he was shifted, causing Craig to freeze and watch him to make sure he wasn't waking him up.

"Mn.. Craig..." he mumbled.

"You awake..?" Craig asked quietly, but received no answer. _Guess not_.

He eventually freed himself and gently laid Tweek down, draping his favorite blanket on him before heading off to bed himself. He couldn't seem to wipe the smile he had off his face though.

_To think that they were_ _once_ _enemies that hated each other._


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Wanted to pop in really quickly just to thank you all so much for the support on this story! I read every single comment and try my best to respond to a lot of them. :) I'll probably delete this note later but yeah, just wanted to thank you all! Especially those who have been consistently keeping up with the story, you are all the real MVPs and I dedicate this gay ass chapter to you. -Yokai

"Wha..?" came the disappointed whine of Tweek.

"Just for a couple days. I'll be back before you know it, okay?" Craig reassured him. "I've got pastor stuff to do, you know that."

"Yes, but..."

"Hey, listen. Every single time I've left, I've always come back, right?"

"Y-Yeah, but never this long..!"

"It's a couple days, Tweek. You'll be fine. You need to stay here and take care of Stripe. I know you'll do a great job of watching her."

"Agh..." The demon sighed and looked up at Craig sadly.

"How about this, we'll do something super fun when I get back." He leaned against the counter, drumming his fingers on the cold surface. "And if you're worried about getting bored, this isn't like the church. You've got tv, books, video games, the Internet, Stripe... you can do all kinds of stuff. Except for go outside, I think you can understand why."

Tweek was quiet for a moment before letting out a resigned sigh. "Okay..."

"I'll be back in two days, alright?"

"Promise..?"

"I promise."

"Alright.. Craig..?"

"Yeah?"

Tweek quietly shuffled closer and gave him a gentle hug. It caught Craig off guard for a moment, but he couldn't help but give a small smile and hug him back.

"Take care," Tweek mumbled.

"You too." With that, Craig was gone, leaving Tweek to fare on his own for a few days. He'd be alright, right?

  
"It's okay, Tweek. It's just like when he leaves to go run errands, except a bit longer," the demon reassured himself as he paced back and forth from the kitchen to the living room shortly after Craig left. "You've lived for hundreds of years basically by yourself, agh...! Two days shouldn't be a big deal...!" He was trying to figure out what to do with himself, but his mind had gone blank. Everything he wanted to do involved Craig.

-

  
Craig sighed and crashed onto his hotel room's bed. The drive up there was tedious and the rest of the day was bothersome as well. As a key witness in the case of the disappearance of Father Dixon, he was now being called in to assist in the investigation. _Took them long enough to get to it_. It felt strange to be anywhere other than home and without the company of a demon. The pastor found he'd grown so used to Tweek being around all the time that even being gone for a little while made him miss him. _I wonder how he's doing. I should really get him a cell phone or something._

-

  
Tweek sat excitedly in front of the door. Two days had passed without incident and it was time for Craig to come home. He'd taken care of the house and of Stripe just like he was told. He found himself excited at the thought of receiving praise from the pastor for his success in completing the task he was given. Much to his dismay, however, the clock continued to tick on without any sign of him. No car pulling into the driveway or the click of the front door unlocking. He began to grow worried that something happened to him, but hoped he would come home any moment.

A few hours passed and still, nothing. Tweek was pacing around the house in a fit of boredom and worry. He just had to be delayed a bit. He was probably fine, right? He wish he had a phone to be able to call him on to make sure he was okay.

After another hour, the dejected demon flopped onto Craig's bed and let out a soft sigh as he took in the familiar scent of him. He curled up in the pastor's blue comforter to soothe his nerves. True to its name, it did comfort him. While it was soft and warm, the real reason Tweek loved that comforter so much was because it was Craig's. He recalled the times the pastor had draped it over him to comfort him. It was a small gesture, but it spoke volumes to him. It represented the fact that someone cared about him, after all. Being swaddled up in it made him feel like he was being hugged by Craig. "Agh, I hope he's okay..."

It was late when Craig arrived home. He let out a tired sigh as he opened the front door. He peeked into the living room to see if Tweek was sleeping in his usual spot, as the couch had become his bed, but he was not there. "Tweek..?" Craig called. It was very quiet in the house. Had he left while he was gone? Had something happened? He frowned and made his way into his own room, thinking perhaps the demon could be playing with Stripe. He tended to get so absorbed into watching the guinea pig that he subconsciously tuned out the rest of the world. When you were immortal, you could sit and watch a guinea pig run around in its cage for hours on end without a care. A dim light shone into the room as he cracked the door, barely illuminating a lump on his bed. He could make out a familiar spaded tail poking out from the mass of blanket. Breathing a sigh of relief, he quietly shuffled over and peered down at the sleeping form of Tweek. He was curled up in the middle of his bed, hugging that blue comforter tightly as he quietly slept. He almost didn't want to wake him, but he was sure the demon was pretty upset that Craig was home late and didn't want him to freak out if he woke up later. "Tweek.. wake up," he whispered, gently shaking him.

"Ngh... wha...?" came the small, sleepy whine of the demon as he was roused from his slumber. He peeled open his eyes and jumped back upon seeing the dark form of Craig looming over him, the backlight hiding his features except for the cross pendant that dangled from his neck, which reflected brightly under the pale light of the evening haze. Tweek let out a squeak in surprise. "Agh...!"

"Woah, dude, it's just me. You're okay."

"C-Craig..?" he wheezed, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the world.

"Hey.. I'm sorry for being home later than I said I would be. I ended up having to be held for longer than expected."

"Craig..!" Tweek exclaimed, springing from the bed and latching onto the pastor, who stumbled back in surprise from the sudden impact but managed to keep his footing.

"Woah..!"

"Thank the devil you're okay..." the demon mumbled, burying his face into the crook of Craig's neck.

"Sorry for worrying you. I'm back now though, all in one piece," he reassured him, returning the hug. His heart fluttered with joy; Tweek was so happy to see him! "How was everything while I was away?"

"Stripe is good, I made sure she wasn't lonely and gave her lots of snacks. But it was super quiet... I can't believe you've lived by yourself like that for so long..."

"I've had Stripe, and before that, Stripe Senior."

"But no one to talk to you... that's so.. lonely..."

"Well, anyway. It's not like that anymore." He smiled and patted the imp's head. "Thank you for taking care of everything while I was away. We'll do something fun tomorrow, okay?"

"Ah..." He wagged his tail a bit when Craig patted his head, as he'd been anticipating the praise all day.

"Also sorry to wake you up, I'm sure you're sleepy. You can have the comforter tonight if you want it."

"Mn... no..." Tweek mumbled. "Not tired."

"You just yawned when you said that."

"Did not.." he protested.

"You sound pretty tired to me."

"Even if I was, which I am not... I don't wanna sleep."

"Why not?"

"I wanna see you!" he insisted as tightened his grip on the pastor, giving an indignant flutter of his wings, as he usually did when he was ready to dig his heels, or hooves, rather, in the ground and be stubborn about something he wanted.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah..!"

"Fine, fine. I am fading pretty fast though. We can watch a little tv or something if you want."

"Alright.."

"Tweek?"

"Yes..?"

"Are you.. gonna let go of me?"

"I don't wanna..." he mumbled.

"You don't wanna?"

"No.."

Craig sighed. "Tweek. Can I at least put on some more comfortable clothing first? I'm sure I smell less than fantastic right now since I've been trapped in this monkey suit for so long." He was so ready to take off his uniform that he had almost driven home in his pajamas.

"Ah... y-yeah." He gingerly let go of the raven-haired man and looked up at him.

"How about you go get everything set up in the living room while I get changed?"

"Alright..!"

Craig watched as the demon scuttled out of the room before going to get himself out of those damn clothes. He was tired and achey, but seeing Tweek made him feel leagues better. He may not admit it out loud, but he missed him a lot. Just standing there with him in his arms as he talked had made his heart pound a mile a minute.

After throwing on a baggy t-shirt and sweatpants, Craig shuffled into the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. His cheeks were flushed and he couldn't manage to get it to go away. He could barely keep his breathing under control. _You have to be honest with yourself, Craig. You know how he makes you feel,_ he thought to himself as he peered at his reflection. "It's okay. Really." He gazed at himself for a moment more before heading out into the living room, where Tweek was sat on the couch with the comforter, excitedly looking up at him as he noticed his presence.

"I couldn't find something interesting... but that's okay. I just.. agh, wanted to spend time with you, really..." Tweek admitted in greeting.

The pastor smiled. "...Same here." Craig flopped down on the couch beside him and let out a relaxed sigh. "Good to be back."

"How was your trip..?"

"If I'm being honest, it was a waste of time.. nothing came of it," he sighed. "It's only a matter of time before they drop the case I think. He just.. disappeared without a trace that night. As time goes on all the events get more fuzzy."

"I wish I could help, but... that was a crazy night for me as well, haha.. can't remember much.." Tweek mumbled, trailing off as he reminisced on that night. It was the night he met Craig for the first time. "It's funny, Craig... I've existed for hundreds of years... but that night feels like it was so long ago when it should seem like a blink of an eye." He looked down at his hands, which were folded in his lap. "I guess it's because all those years, I was merely existing instead of... living." He glanced at the pastor, twiddling his thumbs. "I guess what's what happens when you get to spend your time with someone you, ah, l.. l-like a lot."

Craig blushed, unable to hide the warmness bubbling its way out of his heart as Tweek spoke. "Yep. I may have only been alive for a short amount of time in comparison to you, but the feeling is still the same. Why do you think most humans can't stand to be alone?"

"I'm glad I'm not alone anymore. Thank you, Craig." He looked up at him with a tender smile, and upon seeing Craig smiling back at him his cheeks turned more red. He let out a laugh, closing his eyes. Craig's smile faltered as he watched a couple tears fall down the imp's cheeks.

"Woah, are you okay..?" he asked worriedly, leaning closer to him out of concern. "I'm really sorry for being late..."

"Y-Yeah, I'm sorry...." Tweek sniffled and wiped away his tears with the back of his hand.

"Why are you sad..?"

"I'm not...! Hah, it's the opposite, actually. I'm happy, Craig." Craig relaxed, giving a sigh of relief upon hearing this. "I'm feeling a lot of this stuff for the very first time, agh.. it's a little overwhelming sometimes..."

"Better get used to it. I plan on making you the happiest Imp in the fucking world."

"Craig..." Tweek regained his composure enough to meet his gaze once more. "You already have."

"Quit that, you're gonna make me cry too, asshole." Craig huffed, hiding his face with his hand as he averted his gaze.

"S-Sorry...!"

Craig cleared his throat, trying his best to center himself. "Tweek.. can I.. do something for you..? You name it, I'll do it." I want to see that smile for as long as possible.

"Ah... well.. erm..." Tweek thought for a moment, his tail flicking back and forth. "There is.. one thing.. I'd like.."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Could you maybe, ah, pet.. me..?" he asked shyly. "I hope that's not weird... it just feels nice..." the imp softly explained.

"Pet you..?"

"Y-You know, like, ah..." He gently took Craig's wrist and guided his hand to rest on his fluffy blonde hair. "You've done it before.."

"Ah.. right.. I mean, yeah, I can.. like this?" He gently began petting him, running his fingers through his hair. Tweek let out a small humming noise, his tail curling in delight.

"Yes, perfect..." he mumbled, relaxing at the touch. Craig hadn't realized he liked it until now. He'd patted him on the head and messed with his hair on multiple occasions because the demon's wild hair intrigued him, along with the fact it just seemed like second nature to him.

They began watching TV, Craig continuing to gently pet the imp as if he were a cat. Eventually the patting progressed into Craig running his fingers through Tweek's hair, gently scritching him. He noticed Tweek beginning to make a sort of purring noise, tilting his head to lean more into Craig's hand. His eyes were closed, tail swishing back and forth in pleasure. This probably looked really weird to an outside eye, but he couldn't help but smile as the demon edged closer to him, happily demanding more affection.

"You like this a lot, huh?"

"Mmhm... feels very nice.." Tweek mumbled sleepily. He was resting his head against Craig's shoulder now.

"Yeah?"

"Yes.." He yawned and picked his head up, meeting Craig's gaze. He bit his lip nervously, his tail swishing back and forth as if he wanted to do something but was restraining himself.

"Everything ok?"

"Ah.. would it be okay if I.. ah..." He hesitantly crawled into Craig's lap, wedging himself in between his legs with his hooves dangling over the side. It looked like Craig had been carrying him bridal-style and sat down with him like that. Craig swallowed hard as his heart skipped a beat. He'd told the demon he had a weak heart, didn't he? Tweek was going to give him a heart attack one of these days. The imp didn't even know how much power over his heart, probably. He gripped the edge of the couch cushion as he took a moment to steady himself.

"That's fine, yeah," Craig replied quietly.

"You sure...?"

"Yep."

"A-Alright.."

Wordlessly, Craig reached up his hand and resumed petting Tweek once more. The demon gave a relieved sigh and affectionally nuzzled against his hand.

"You're rather cuddly tonight, aren't you?"

"Cuddly? What's that mean?"

"I dunno how to explain it without making it sound weird."

"I just.. well, ah.. wanna be close to you.. because you're.. warm.. and safe.. and it makes me h-happy because I like you a lot..." the imp stammered. "It feels nice when you touch me.. and when I touch you.."

The wording of the second part of his statement made Craig's cheeks turn red. He truly felt like his heart was gonna give out at any moment. Absolutely no breaks on the heart train tonight, it seemed. _There is no fucking way anyone is allowed to be this cute. It should be illegal. Maybe this is why Tweek ended up in hell._ "I swear you're phrasing it like that on purpose."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, nothing."

It was odd to Craig how light Tweek was. Sure, he was scrawny and not as tall as him, but he weighed way less than what one would assume just by looking at him. It just must be a demon thing, especially if he was capable of flight.

Tweek rested his head against Craig's shoulder, gently nuzzling him before burying his face into the crook of his neck. His warm breath on Craig's skin sent tingles down his spine. He said nothing as he did this, he just quietly purred, but even that faded away after a bit. One of his horns was prodding his throat some, but he didn't care too much. The curvature made it so the point wasn't piercing anything. _Did he doze off?_ Craig wondered at one point as he peered down at him. All he could see was his messy blonde hair.

"Tweek..?" he whispered.

"Mmn..." came the quiet grunt of the demon.

"Did I wake you?"

"Mmhm.."

"Sorry. I think we should be getting to bed properly though, I haven't slept in two days."

"Ah.. okay.." the imp mumbled, sleepily pulling himself away from Craig to settle himself on the couch like normal. "Goodnight, Craig.." he yawned.

The pastor felt his heart sink as the warmth of Tweek's body pressed against his left him. He bit his lip as he pondered what he wanted to do. "..I didn't say you had to let go of me."

"Huh..?"

"You could, uh.. come to bed.. with me, if you like.. I'm sure it's a little more comfortable than the couch... you know, if you want to, that is... I did say _we_ , after all..." Craig mumbled, rubbing his arm out of nervousness. He didn't want to weird Tweek out but cuddling with him felt too nice not to seek after it once more.

He watched as the demon perked up a little, his tail twitching in intrigue. "Wha..? I'm sorry, I must've misheard.. you want me to.. sleep with you..?"

Craig wheezed internally at Tweek's wording. "..If you wanna.. I'll keep petting you if you like..."

"Ah.. gosh..." He gave a sleepy smile. "I can't think of anything I'd rather do..." He gushed as he thought about being snuggled up in his favorite blanket with his favorite person as he pet his hair until he dozed off.

"Well then, uh, come on," he replied awkwardly as he gestured for the demon to follow him to his bedroom.

He let out a happy hum and obliged, following after Craig into his room.

"How about we get you into into a more comfortable shirt, yeah? I cut some holes into one of my old ones for you a little while ago but forgot about it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, here." He opened up his dresser, rummaging around until he found the shirt he spoke of and tossed it to Tweek. It was a black shirt with a picture of a cartoony rocket flying around the moon with the words 'out of this world!' spelled out in stars. Imagining Craig wearing that shirt made the imp have to hold back a chuckle.

"What're you thinking about there, imp?"

"Nothing!" he chimed, unbuttoning his shirt and gently taking it off. He set it aside and pulled on the one Craig had given him, popping his wings out through the slits and fluttering them as he got a feel for the shirt. Craig watched as he folded his wings and maneuvered them through the slits in the back of the clothing skillfully. It was pretty big on him, but that was fine because it was intended to be a sleep shirt.

"How is it?"

"Comfy." He wagged his tail, trying to get a look at himself. "Do I look okay in it?"

"You look out of this world, Tweek."

"...Oh my Satan. You did not just.."

Craig shot him some finger guns and grinned. "Seized the opportunity."

"Now I will seize the opportunity to do.. this!" the demon exclaimed, reaching over and snatching Craig's hat off his head, revealing his raven black hair.

"Agh, Tweek..!"

"Do you sleep with your hat on, Craig?"

"...I plead the 5th."

"Wha?"

"...I'll tell you about the constitution another time. Anyway." He held out his hand. "My hat, please."

"Nope." He stuck out his tongue and pulled the blue chullo hat over his head of messy blonde hair. "Look at me, I'm Craig! I never take my hat off!" he teased, doing a crude impression of the pastor's deeper, monotone voice.

"Wow. Okay. Well then.." He snatched Tweek's shirt from where he'd placed it and put it on. He couldn't button it at all, but it was enough. He held up his fingers to imitate horns. "Two can play at this game. Ahem. I'm Tweek. I can't sit in a chair properly and one time I left a dead bird on Craig's desk on top of one of his special bibles and stained the cover with blood!"

"..I didn't know any better..." Tweek protested. "It was a present.. the feathers reminded me of your hair."

"I'm just teasing you." He looked over the demon. He was very fucking cute in his shirt and hat. _Too cute_. "Okay, time for bed. Hat off."

"Ah..!"

As he was pulling it off, Craig flopped onto the bed and let out a sigh. He had a hard time making eye contact with Tweek as he gently patted the spot next to him, beckoning for the demon to join him. _I can't believe I'm really doing this_ , he thought to himself nervously. He wheezed internally when he felt the bed shift as it took on the weight of a second occupant.

He rolled over to see Tweek laying beside him, staring back at him shyly. "Is this really okay..?"

"If it wasn't, I wouldn't have offered." He cleared his throat. "So uh.. you can.. come here, if you want.."

Tweek's gaze softened as he happily obliged, scooting over until he was right next to Craig. He gave him one more shy look as if he thought it wasn't okay for him to be doing this before he happily snuggled up against the pastor, pressing his body against his. He let out a quiet sigh of contentment as he nuzzled into Craig's chest. "Your heart is beating very quickly. Is that normal?" he asked, as it was much different from when he listened to it back at the church when Craig was dying of hypothermia.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Craig huffed, pulling the blue comforter over the both of them. Tweek was so warm. Not just because of the fur on his legs, the demon just felt like a heating blanket. It was nice, as due to Craig's heart problems he found his circulation in his hands and feet wasn't the best, subsequently resulting in them always being cold.

"Hehe... you're funny, Craig.." Tweek mumbled.

"Am I now?"

"Mmhm."

"Well you're a funny little imp too, aren't you?" he mused, reaching out a hand and beginning to lightly stroke the back of the demon's head and causing him to let out a soft purr.

"Maybe so. I blame you.." he replied sleepily.

"Hm." He snuggled closer to Tweek, unable to hide the smile on his face. He lifted up his hands, clapping twice. The lights went off.

"How'd you do that?"

"Magic."

"Kinda like demonic powers?"

"Yup. Craig powers."

"I see." The demon knew he wasn't being serious. In a sense though, he did have powers. He had the power to make him happy. To feel loved. "What an amazing power..." Tweek mumbled, barely audible as he began to drift off.

Craig quirked a brow. Having the lights turn off when he clapped was kinda cool, he supposed. "Are we still talking about the lights?"

"Who knows.." the imp replied vaguely.

"Hm. Well.." Craig paused to let out a yawn. "You comfortable?"

"Never been more so.."

"Same here." He felt a warmth spread all over him, his body relaxing. "Goodnight, Tweek."

"Goodnight, Craig..." he yawned. His breathing soon slowed, indicating he was asleep.

_Sleeping with a demon. How very Christian of me_ , Craig thought to himself in amusement before he himself dozed off.


	20. Chapter 20

Craig let out a quiet grumble as the light of day shone through the windows and directly into his eyes. He buried his face into something soft to block it out and go back to sleep, but it was too late. He noticed something warm pressed against him and peeled open an eye to see what was going on. Tweek was sleeping soundly, cuddled up into Craig's chest. He had his arms around the imp's waist, which he did not remember doing when he was awake. His expression softened as the memories of the night previous came flooding back to him. "Damn it..." he mumbled as his heart began to pound. Tweek let out a soft whine at the noise and nuzzled his face deeper into the pastor's chest.

"Ngh.."

"You up..?" Craig asked quietly.

"Mmhm.. am now..." came the small mumble of the demon who sounded like he was barely conscious.

"Sorry about that.." the pastor murmured, reaching up a hand and stroking Tweek's head apologetically. "Good morning, though."

"Morning..." Tweek yawned, stretching out his legs and then his wings before shifting his head to look up at Craig.

"Sleep well?"

"Best sleep I've ever gotten..." he purred.

"Honestly, same here."

"I never wanna get up again... so comfy..."

"I feel you. But we gotta."

"Ngh... soft and warm... wanna stay right here... with you..."

"We don't have to get up right now.. just.. eventually." The sleepy voice coming from Tweek was plucking at his heart strings. He was so weak for this imp. Quite frankly though, he was okay with it.

"Eventually.. alright.. one hundred years..."

"I'll be dead by then, though."

"Don't say that.. don't say that..." he mumbled softly, sounding sad from the statement. "I don't like to think about it."

"Ah. I'm sorry. But that's why it's important we don't waste any time because I'm not gonna be young and handsome forever." He was half joking, but what he said was true. Craig thought back to the story Tweek had told him that night in the church about the demon and the human who fell in love but were afraid because of their differences. He understood now in part the reason he liked it; it shared a lot of connections to his and Tweek's own relationship, even if they hadn't known it would at the time.

"Ngh..."

"Okay, okay, I'll stop. Don't worry, we have plenty of time." He gently pat the demon's head until he felt him relax in his arms once more.

Time passed like that, the two enjoying each other's company on a sleepy morning. Few words were necessary, their presences were enough. They eventually did have to get up though, as Craig was only mortal and had various bodily processes and needs he had to take care of so that he would not die. He was already missing the feeling of the imp in his arms shortly after. His heart was happy though, filled with the company and appreciation of Tweek. He wondered how Tweek felt. He grew nervous upon pondering the possibility that the demon was not feeling the same as him. The seed of doubt was like a pit in his stomach, making him a sea of conflicting emotions.

_No matter how he feels, as long as he's in my life and we're like this, I'll be alright_. That's what Craig thought, anyway. Of course he hoped Tweek's heart was in the same place as his own, but he would never ask the demon in fear of ruining everything they had together. It was his job to have faith that a higher power was watching over him and helping him. Maybe not now, considering Tweek was the spawn of Satan himself. But he still maintained his faith. Tweek was a good person with a good heart. Nothing would make Craig see otherwise, and he hoped the higher powers saw that in him too.

  
"Hey, Tweek?" Craig spoke up as they were eating breakfast.

"Yeah?"

"...You know... errm.. I just... want you to know that uh.. you don't have to sleep on the couch anymore if you don't want to. You're more than welcome to sleep in my room.. with me.. unless you prefer the couch, that's fine too..." he informed Tweek, struggling to get out the words at first because he was a little nervous.

"Really..? You mean it..?"

"Yup."

"Ah, that makes me really happy... hehe.." The demon's tail curled in delight, his wings fluttering. "I was worried it was just, ah, a one time thing... since you were gone a few days.."

"Nope. It can be as often as you want."

"Even.. every night..?"

"Yup. The bed will always be big enough for two."

"Ah.. wow.." He tilted his head. "Do you have to go on any more trips like the one you went on?"

"Probably, unfortunately," Craig sighed. "Since Father Dixon is still gone without a trace. As of right now I haven't been called back up, but that could change any minute."

"I see.."

"But I'll always come come back, don't worry, okay?"

"Okay."

  
Craig was soon after called back up to assist in the search after Father Dixon's wallet was discovered. Nothing was missing from it oddly enough, indicating that the losing of it wasn't from a theft or anything of that nature. The youth pastor's presence in the house was spotty, much to Tweek's dismay. He explained to him that the head pastor was important to him, having been there ever since he himself became a youth pastor during his hardest times, and that he had an obligation to assist in the search as much as he could. Tweek understood, but he still couldn't help but miss Craig when he was gone. Thankfully, the pastor did invest in a home phone so he could check in with him when he was gone and make sure Tweek was alright. This helped ease the loneliness when they were apart some.

Life went on this way for a time. Craig would be called up to the investigation and be gone for a couple days, then return and shower Tweek with attention to make up for his absence. He also had his church to attend to, so that ate up a lot of his time. Time would pass but eventually he would've called up again. He wished Tweek could come with him, but there was no way he could risk getting him involved in the investigation. What the hell would he say if anyone asked who he was? He was a demon, after all. He had no ID or records of any kind and there was no way to explain your way out of that. He didn't even have a last name. _Tweek Tucker could work_ , a thought came to mind. He blinked as his heart skipped a beat just thinking about it. "Christ..." he hissed, shaking his head to clear his mind. At this rate it would only be a matter of time before his tongue slipped and he said something weird or revealing in front of the imp. Deciding it would be a good idea to check in on him, he dialed up the home phone number on his cellphone and called it. It just rung, for a while before it went to voicemail. Very odd, but perhaps Tweek was taking a nap in the other room and didn't hear it.

"Hey Tweek. Just wanted to check in and make sure all was good on the home front. Call me back when you hear this. I should be home sometime tomorrow. See you soon." He left a message before hanging up. It worried him that Tweek didn't pick up, as he had always picked up without fail in the past, but he didn't want to work himself up over what was probably nothing so he dropped it and went on with his day, noting to try to call him again later.

He never heard from Tweek that day. He had tried to call back later as he resolved to do and was still met with voicemail once more. Now he was worried. What had happened while he was away? He found the worry had kept him up almost all night, sleep only taking him for a couple hours when exhaustion overcame the stress.

As soon as he was able to the next day, he left for home as fast as he could. He found himself speeding down the highway and had to remind himself that getting stopped for a ticket would only delay him further.

Parking in his driveway, Craig stepped out and looked over his house as he hurried up the front steps. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He jammed his key into the lock and hastily unlocked the front door, swinging it open. The sight that greeted him only confirmed his worries.

The house was trashed. There was broken glass and other debris on the floor and a lot of the furniture was either out of place or knocked over. He noticed some red stains on the carpet as he entered.

"Tweek..?" he called, trying his best to mask the genuine fear in his voice. No answer. There wasn't a soul in the living room or the kitchen. "What the fuck.. what the fuck..." the pastor mumbled to himself. Had someone broken into the house? Had they hurt Tweek? _Shit_.

He entered his room. Hunched over on the ground beside Stripe's cage was what looked like the outline of Tweek with his back turned towards the door. He was shaking profoundly, even moreso when the floor creaked as Craig approached him. He was mumbling to himself, stopping when the pastor was right behind him.

"Tweek..?"

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." he replied quietly.

"What happened..?"

"I'm sorry, Craig... I'm sorry..." he continued.

"Tweek. Please. What happened..?"

"S-S-Stripe..." the demon mumbled.

"What about her...?"

"She's.. she's dead, Craig..."

"Wha..?" His heart dropped. He knew guinea pigs lived to be four to eight years old. She had been a rescue so he didn't exactly know how old she was. The vet estimated she was three or four. He didn't expect to lose her for a while, but perhaps her ticket was just a little shorter than the average. He cleared his throat. "..Shit... don't.. don't blame yourself. Guinea pigs don't have a very long life span..." He could see some of her brown and white fur over Tweek's shoulder. He assumed he was holding her. "..Let me see her, please.."

Tweek said nothing. He remained 'still' for a moment longer before gently holding up Stripe. But, something was wrong. What he was holding was not Stripe. It was only part of Stripe. _Her head was missing._ The sight made Craig flinch and look away, having to hold back vomit.

"Tweek?! What the hell?!"

"...I'm.. sorry..." was all he could manage to say.

"What fucking happened to her?! Did you do this?!"

"I-I.. I had to.. please... please let me explain..."

"You fucking.. killed her..." he mumbled, as if to confirm it to himself because the thought seemed so outrageous. He let out a bitter laugh. "Why. the fuck. did you kill. my fucking. guinea pig?!" He looked over Tweek's hands which were crusted with blood.

"I-I-

"Face me when you fucking talk. I want you to look me in the eye and tell me why you did this to my pet that I trusted you with."

Tweek hesitantly stood up and slowly turned around. He was crying. It looked like he had been for a while. Drawn crudely on his forehead was a sigil of some sort in blood. Presumably, it was Stripe's. The sight disgusted and horrified Craig to the point where all shred of optimism and forgiveness left his body, replaced by rage and betrayal.

"Y-You see, s-she was-

"You know what? Save it. I don't want to fucking hear it," he hissed. "I knew it was too good to be true. I let a fucking demon live in my house, for Christ's sake! What kind of idiot must I be?! It was only a matter of time!" He let out a bitter laugh. "Once a monster, always a monster, I guess." He turned around and stomped off. Tweek stood there in shock, unable to move his legs. Reality sunk back into him and he rushed after Craig.

"P-Please..! Craig...! Please let me explain..!" he called. Entering the living room, he saw the pastor heading for the front door. "Craig..?"

"Don't fucking talk to me, demon." He clenched the cross pendant around his neck and looked back at Tweek. There was a mix of anger and betrayal in his eyes, but also a deep sadness. "I'm leaving. I have to figure out what the hell I'm going to do with you," he spat. "Don't even bother trying to leave, just like the church, the only way in or out is through a door I open." He opened the front door. "Oh, and don't even bother trying anything for when I get back either. I will be ready." With that, he stepped outside and slammed the door behind him hard enough to make the house shake. Tweek fell to his knees, beginning to sob hard enough that it wracked his frame.

Craig got into his car and drove off. He didn't have any destination in particular, he just wanted to be away from everything that just happened. This had to be some kind of fucked up dream, right? He'd wake up in his hotel room any minute now, ready to drive back home to greet the demon who he'd grown so fond of and spend the evening together. Hell, he was even going to try asking Tweek how he felt. But unfortunately, that stuff was the dream at this point. The horrific bullshit that had just transpired was reality.

Craig found himself pulling into the parking lot of the church. He must've driven there out of habit. He sat in his car for a moment, contemplating what he wanted to do. Deciding maybe God had some answers for him, he got out of the car and headed inside.

He sat at the front pew and put his hands together. "God... am I being punished? Is this what I get for.." He trailed off. "..With a demon..? For succumbing to hell's trickery..?" he asked. He let out a sigh. "She was innocent.. why couldn't you have just taken me instead...? Why did Stripe have to die?" He rested his face in his hands. "How did I let myself.. fall in love.. with a fucking demon, God..?" He sneered as he reflected on the absurdity of it. "Damn it all..."

He continued to pray, spewing out all the thoughts that crowded his mind until he had nothing left. He had calmed down now; the rage had been replaced with a deep sadness. Heartbreak. "..Why did he do it..?"

He kept asking himself why Tweek would hurt Stripe. He loved that guinea pig as much as he did. He couldn't wrap his head around it. If only he had given him the chance to explain what happened, maybe things would not be so bad now. He regretted refusing to listen to him. He had been so angry and horrified that he couldn't rationalize anything. And now not only had he lost his beloved pet, but probably the person he cared about most too. "God... what the hell am I doing here..?" he sighed.

He took out his lighter and a cigarette, lighting it and taking a drag of it before exhaling a cloud of smoke. He knew it was bad for his health, but he couldn't help it on the occasion when he needed to calm down.

After a period of thought as he smoked, Craig decided what he was going to do. "Okay... I'm going to go back. I'm going to talk to him and hear what he has to say. Then I can decide what to do from there." He nodded to himself and stood up. He exited the church, but not before grabbing a dagger and a vial of holy water. _Just in case, right?_

He stomped out the cigarette once he got outside and climbed into his car. The engine revved to life. Gripping the steering wheel hard, he sped off back towards the shitshow.

  
Craig decided it would be best to enter through the back door, just in case Tweek was waiting by the front door to escape or attack him. Tweek didn't know about the back door, as the pastor never used it. As quietly as he could, he unlocked it and stepped inside. He gripped the vial of holy water in his pocket as he looked around. _Something was off_. Everything was dead silent. He could've sworn the place wasn't as much of a mess as it was now. Did Tweek decide to completely trash the place while he was gone?

Craig swallowed hard before speaking out. "Tweek..? Look, I just want to talk."

Silence.

"I..I'm sorry for getting so upset. I didn't mean the things I said. I want to hear what you have to say before I make judgements like that."

More silence.

"Hello..?" he called, stepping deeper into the house as he looked around. "Please, I just want to talk."

Deafening silence. Was he hiding? Craig had threatened him upon his return after all. He searched the living room and the kitchen, followed by the garage and the laundry room. He headed for his room, as it was the only place left. What greeted him when he entered was something out of a horror movie.

His bedroom was trashed; sigils and words crudely scribbled with blood adorned his walls and the floor. Tufts of reddish fur and blonde hair were scattered amongst the carnage. It was clear to Craig that there was some kind of struggle. _What the fuck happened?_


	21. Chapter 21

"Tweek..?" he called out, even though he knew the attempt was in vain. The noise of the curtains rustling caused him to look up towards the window at the side of his room. They were torn, the ragged remains of the cloth fluttering in the... breeze? The window was open. No, not even that. _The window was broken_. There was shattered glass all over the floor. Did Tweek break it and escape? There were bloody hoof-prints all over the floor, but oddly enough, there were some footprints he didn't recognize as well.

That's when it hit him. The glass was inside. If Tweek had broken the window, the glass would be outside. Someone or something broke in. And that someone had done something to Tweek.

  
"Fuck, fuck... what do I do..?!" Craig exclaimed as he examined the broken window from outside. It wasn't like he could call the police as at least in the eyes of society, Tweek didn't exist. There were no indicators of where the hell he could be either. No blood trails or tire marks. The pastor was at a loss. What could he do?

  
Craig spent the next two weeks fixing up his house and looking for Tweek. He didn't have access to many resources, so the most he could do was drive around and look for him. He'd asked around town if anyone had seen a thin, blonde haired boy with blue eyes and wearing a worn green shirt, but no one knew a thing.

He was back to not sleeping at night again. He spent his time brooding, trying to conceive any possible idea of where Tweek could be. He'd prayed to God to bring the imp back to him with not much luck. He'd even considered making a deal with a demon to find him, but brushed the thought away with his last shreds of morality and rationale.

Craig rested his head down at the kitchen table and let out a soft sigh. _You'd think after experiencing loss multiple times before, it would get easier. But it doesn't_ , he thought bitterly. He closed his eyes, ready to let exhaustion take him away, even if it was just for a few moments. A loud ringing jarred him awake, however. He sat up and grumbled, taking out his phone from his pocket. The screen lit up as it displayed he was receiving a call from an unknown caller. It was probably some sort of scam to get his credit card information since he never really got calls from other people. But, he answered it anyway.

"Hello?" he asked tiredly.

"Boy, do you sound like shit. Still kicking, are we Craig?"

"..Who is this..?"

"That's not important."

"...What the hell do you want?"

"Listen. I'm just going to skip the monologue and cut to the chase. This isn't some sort of cliché horror movie or something. I have something you want, and you have something I want. I'd like to make a trade. Simple as that, really."

Craig narrowed his eyes as the voice spoke. "No offense, but acknowledging something is cliché doesn't negate its cliché-ness. It's just a weak attempt to try to redeem lazy planning. But, let me guess. You have Tweek, and you want me to come meet you somewhere to exchange whatever the hell you want from me for him." Though his words sounded cold and collected, he was freaking out on the inside.

"Glad we're on the same page, but you should really watch your attitude if you want your pathetic excuse for a demon back in one piece."

"What do you want from me?" Craig growled.

"We can discuss that in person. The details regarding time and place have been sent to your cell phone. The clock is ticking, Pastor Craig. As a word of advice, I do not like waiting. See you soon." With that, the line went dead as the anonymous caller hung up. Their voice was low, sounding more like a growl than anything. It was male from what Craig could tell, but something about it disturbed him for a reason he could not put his finger on. It probably wasn't human.

He checked his phone and sure enough, there was a text from an unknown number, definitely a throwaway phone, that read:  _abandoned factory, seven miles east of South Park. You know the place. 3 AM._

It was true that he was aware of an old meat factory out that way. It was extremely dangerous, but he didn't really have a choice if he ever wanted to see Tweek again. Like he'd once told that imp, people did stupid things for those they care about. Whoever he was dealing with, they were not a force to be reckoned with. They were smart. They had probably set this whole situation up like some sort of evil mastermind or something. Craig felt a bit helpless, if he was being honest with himself. _And that terrified him._


	22. Chapter 22

Craig's car shot like a bullet down the road. It was most definitely a trap he was about to walk himself into, but what choice did he have? There was a chance he'd be able to outsmart Tweek's captor and get away without issue. There was also the chance he was about to get murdered too. But hey, when you've lost everything else, why not? That's what he told himself anyway.

He was trying his best to play it cool in the hopes he could trick himself into staying calm. Fake it 'til you make it, as they say. The factory he was headed to had been shut down a long while ago for unethical practices. The people there were ruthless, using the slaughter of animals for food as entertainment and word got out about their torture and cruel and unusual punishment. One didn't have to be a vegan or anything to be disturbed by some of the things that were described. Because of all the violence and death that took place there, the building had become a host for demonic activity some years later. Craig recalled Father Dixon talking about the experience a few times to him when he was a new pastor.

The silhouette of the building appeared on the horizon. It was dark and ominous, giving out an aura that made Craig grip the steering wheel tighter. It felt wrong. But if Tweek was in there, so be it. He had long since turned off the headlights to his car in case whoever this guy was was looking for him to get the heads up on him. He parked the car and got out, narrowing his eyes as he tried to make out the landscape. It was so dark that he couldn't see much, though. In his pocket he gripped a vial of holy water and a blessed knife. He had come prepared to defend himself, of course.

Taking a deep breath to steel his nerves, the pastor descended inside the ominous factory whose visage loomed over him like an evil spirit.

Upon entering, the first thing he noticed was the foul odor. Of course, that was to be expected, as it was an abandoned meat factory. It reeked of death. The second thing that became apparent to him was how quiet it was. Not a sound could be heard indicating another presence within the factory. The quiet hum of night even failed to reach inside the walls of the place. His body was tense as he quietly made his way deeper into the factory. He was listening for any type of movement, even trying to sense a presence in the darkness. The jagged silhouettes of the machinery loomed over Craig like they would come to life and strike at any moment. Knowing all the lives these machines took inhumanely made his skin crawl a bit.

The youth pastor squinted as he began to make out a small light off in the distance. It was a door, and the room that resided behind it was illuminated with a pale yellow light that stretched outwards into the darkness of the main room of the factory. Like a moth drawn to a flame, Craig slowly made his way towards it. Who else would the light be on for besides him? It's not like there were other pastors being lured to the place to rescue _their_ demons.

When he made it to the door, he paused. The window to the door was frosted glass, making it very hard to make out what was on the other side. It looked to be some sort of staircase. Presumably, it led down to the basement. _Of course it did. It's always the fucking basement_. He listened for any sign of life on the other side of the door but could sense absolutely nothing. He felt completely and utterly alone, but the hairs standing on the back of his neck made him think otherwise.

He gripped the doorknob, turning it slowly to be as quiet as possible. He winced as the old, unkempt door creaked open due to the bolts being rusted over. Craig remained still like a deer in the headlights for a moment, listening for any sign that someone else was around. Nothing happened, however. He would breathe a sigh of relief, but the pastor knew this was only the beginning of his worries. He had a feeling in his gut that he was about to throw himself head-first into a shitshow. What was on the other side of the door was, in fact, a staircase. The harsh fluorescent lighting gave the aged white paint on the walls a pale yellow glow and let out a soft buzzing noise. _Well this is just fucking fantastic_ , Craig thought bitterly. He let out a sigh and began his descent to his possible demise.


	23. Chapter 23

The basement was musty and poorly lit. It was not the typical basement either, rather a corridor that branched off into several other different rooms. Craig began to wonder if he had been tricked into coming to this place, as he had seen no one thus far. Maybe he went to the wrong place, or had actually snuck past whoever was waiting for him. He had no idea what was going on.

Making his way down the hallway, he tried to peek into one of the rooms through the glass window on the door, but found it dark. If Tweek really was here, he could be in any of these rooms. He dared not call out to him on the chance it would attract the malevolent captor, though. He gripped the doorknob and slowly turned it, bracing himself for the possibility that his certain doom could be waiting for him on the other side.

The room was dark and reeked of mildew. Using the flashlight on his phone, Craig surveyed the scene. The room was nothing special, just a bunch of cardboard boxes and random junk. He let out a sigh and moved on to try the next door.

He had made it halfway down the hallway, checking the doors on either side when a voice spoke from behind him.

"...Craig..?"

The youth pastor froze. He recognized that voice. Turning around, he was met with the sight of someone who he never thought he'd see again. It was none other than Father Dixon, the lost pastor.

"Father..?" was all he could manage to ask in disbelief. He'd accepted that he would never see the man again now, but here he was standing before him. Completely unharmed, too.

"What're you doing here..?" Father Dixon questioned.

"...I could be asking you the same thing..." Craig mumbled. "Where.. where the hell have you been..?! Everyone thinks you're dead..!"

"Shh, shh.. keep it down.. listen, I'll explain everything soon, but I can't right now. You shouldn't be here, Craig. You need to get out while you can."

"What's going on..?"

"You're the only one left. Once they have you, this whole area is done for." He stopped speaking, looking around as if he heard something. Craig heard nothing though. "There are demons here. You're in great danger. You really do need to get out of here."

"...I can't. Not yet, anyway. I need to find what I came for."

"What you came for? There's nothing here for you, son. Besides death, that is."

"No. There's someone here. Someone that I need to get out of here."

"There's no other people in this building besides you and me, now. Only demons. Whoever you're looking for.. they're probably dead."

"Well it's a good thing it's a demon I'm looking for then," he replied quietly.

"What..?"

"Guess I've got some explaining to do too. Later, though. For now, just... let me find him and we'll get the hell out of here together, okay?" He cupped his hands, finally deciding to call for his imp. He no longer cared if anyone else heard him. Surely he and Father Dixon could take on a few demons. "Tweek..! Can you hear me...?! If you're down here, give me a sign..!"

"Quiet!" the pastor barked. "I can't let you do that, Craig," he continued, his tone suddenly growing much more grave.

"Father Dixon..?"

"You really think I'm going to let you and that wretched imp walk free?" he growled, blocking the way. "A pastor and an imp.. how fucking absurd. It defies all logic!" Dixon sneered. "And you call yourself a holy man..!"

"...How do you know this..?" Craig felt a knot form in his stomach. Something was wrong. How the hell did Father Dixon know about his relationship with Tweek? He never said he was an imp to him, after all.

"I really thought you were more clever than this, Craig. Oh well. Ignorance.. is bliss." He raised his fist, and before Craig could even react, it connected with his face and the world went black. The last thing he could feel was his body crumpling to the floor like a rag doll.

-

  
A harsh ringing noise became apparent to Craig as he faded back into consciousness. He let out a groan as the pain followed soon after. Peeling open an eye, the light that hit it stung and caused him to shut it once more. "Ugh.."

He heard faint breathing that was not his own. He was laying on some sort of hard surface, presumably the floor of a room. That much he could gather as he sat up, trying his best to get his bearings. It was apparent to him that one of his eyes was swollen almost completely shut; probably a black eye from getting decked in the face by.. Father Dixon? He looked around wearily. Craig had so many questions, but his first priority was figuring out where the hell he was and what was going on. That's when he noticed a form near him. _A familiar form_.


	24. Chapter 24

Shifting his gaze, Craig's eyes fell upon the familiar sight of the imp he'd been searching for. _His imp_. "Tweek..?" he croaked. He was in awful shape; his wings were both broken and torn while his tail was bent at some unnatural looking angles. His body was covered in cuts and bruises from what he could tell, but the light that illuminated the room was dim.

"...C...Craig..?" came the weak reply of the demon.

"I.. found you.." he mumbled, almost in disbelief. He tried to scoot over to the imp, who seemed to be struggling to move to look at Craig, but a searing pain in his legs made him stop immediately. Looking down, he saw one leg was chained to the floor. Both had wounds on them and one of his feet looked broken. "Agh, fuck..."

"You.. shouldn't have.. come here..." the demon mumbled, seeming to give up his attempt to move. His voice was weak and raspy.

"What I should and shouldn't do is up for me to decide." He examined his wounds before trying to tug the chain.

"I tried... to stop him... from doing that... but I was too weak..." Tweek explained. "I'm sorry..."

"Be quiet," the pastor grunted. "I dug myself this grave."

"Oh no.. are you mortally wounded..?"

"No, no, just.. banged up."

"That's good.." The imp let out a weak cough. "I can't say.. t-the same... for myself..."

"What...?"

"I don't have much time... I can't... regenerate.. my wounds.. I've sustained.. too much damage.. I have nothing left... I'm basically mortal..." he explained, a deep sadness evident in his tone. "I'm going to die, Craig."

"...No. No you're not." He tugged harder on the chain, but it wouldn't budge. He tried to slip it off his broken foot, but he couldn't bend it at all to maneuver the chain off without excruciating pain shooting up his leg. He gritted his teeth, wincing. "Shit..."

"Don't waste your strength.. it's okay."

"No, it's not. Just fucking hold on." He looked around for anything he could use to break the chain, but there was nothing. His pockets had been emptied of the weapons he brought. He looked down to his foot. If he could just bend his foot a little more, he would be able to slip it off.

The pastor glanced at Tweek, who was laying in what looked like a small puddle of blood, then looked back to himself. _Humans do stupid shit for the people they care about, right?_ Letting out a sharp huff, he took hold of his foot. He hesitated for a moment. He knew what was to come. It would be awful. But Tweek needed him. With that, he gritted his teeth and sharply cranked his foot. The pain was excruciating as he heard a snap. He bit his lip so hard to stifle the cry of pain that he could taste blood. He began jerking the steel cuff around his ankle down over his broken foot. Each tug sent another wave of agony through his body, but he persisted. By the time he got it off, his whole body was trembling from the pain. He was sweating with his eyes watering uncontrollably. But, he was free.

He weakly dragged himself over to Tweek, who was trembling.

"What did you do... are you okay..?"

"Well, I'm doing better than you, at least.." he replied vaguely. He felt like he was about to throw up from the pain. He couldn't quite mask it out of his voice though.

Finally being able to take a look at him, his heart ached when he saw how bad Tweek was doing. One of his horns was broken off and with every weak exhale came blood dribbling out of his mouth. He was on his side, curled up in the fetal position with his hands pressed against his stomach. Craig could make out a nasty wound to his abdomen, which looked like a gaping hole he was trying to keep shut so his guts wouldn't spill out. Seeing Craig's movement in the corner of his eye, Tweek strained to look at him.

"C..Craig..."

"Fuck, Tweek..."

"I never thought.. I'd see you again..."

The pastor shook his head. "I'm here, Tweek. I'm here." He bit his lip as he looked over the demon. "What.. what do I do.. for you..? How can I..."

"You.. you can't do anything," he mumbled. "Haha.."

"There's gotta be something I can do..."

"...Can you just... hold me..?" Tweek asked quietly. "I'm.. I'm scared, Craig..."

Nodding quietly and trying his best to stifle the tears forming in his eyes, he scooted over and positioned himself so Tweek could rest his head on his lap. He didn't want to pick him up and make his pain worse. He helped the demon pick up his head and rest it on his thighs. "How's this..?"

"Better..." He let out a weak cough before continuing. "..I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I should've just died back at that house all that time ago... or you should've kept me locked up in that basement... this wouldn't have happened..."

"Don't say shit like that..!" he barked. "I don't regret any of it."

"But.. it's all my fault you're here now..."

"And I'd do it a million times over if it meant I got to be with you."

"C-Craig... you don't.. hate me..?"

"God, no. Not at all, Tweek..." he replied quietly, reaching down and petting his hair. This earned a soft sigh from the demon, who seemed to relax a little.

"Ah.. that makes me happy... I can die knowing... that you..." He stopped and whimpered, tears sliding down his cheeks.

"Shh, shh.. no... Tweek.. I'm so sorry.. I didn't mean any of those things I said back at the house... I was just angry... I didn't give you a chance to explain yourself at all... and because I left, you... ended up here..." He swallowed hard as the realization hit him. "It's because of me... fuck..."

"No, it's not... this was going to happen eventually... y-you see... Stripe, she... she had a curse on her... the one in charge of all this was using her to spy on us... she was going to be used to hurt you, so I..." he trailed off. "I really did.. try to remove the curse... without hurting her... but I'm just a stupid imp... I'm not strong enough..." he whimpered.

"...I see." He didn't know what else to say. He knew that Tweek was just trying to protect him, but the loss of his beloved guinea pig still ached in his heart. "...You did what you had to do. Even if it..." He sighed and shook his head. "I forgive you, Tweek. I'm sure Stripe does too."

"...Thank you, Craig." The demon gave a small smile, but that quickly faded as he coughed up more blood. "I've been holding on... in the hopes.. I would be able to tell you goodbye... I'm glad I did..."

"...Please don't talk like that, Tweek. You're going to get through this. We both are."

"I'm sorry... I..." he trailed off. "Thank you... for everything. You showed me what it was like... to feel loved. I will always... be grateful... that you could see the good in even a demon like me... haha.. that sounds so cheesy, doesn't it..?"

"Tweek..!"

"It's funny... I've already died before.. I don't know why I'm so scared this time... I-I guess... it's because this time... I don't want to... since I have things I don't want to leave..."

"Please, just hang on a little longer... we can get through this..." Craig begged.

The demon shook his head slightly. It was all he could manage to do as his strength had left him completely now. "G-Goodbye, Craig... you be good now, okay..? Our time together was short, but... I will always cherish it... wherever my soul ends up..."

"Stop..! You're not going to die, I won't let you..!" he cried. He wracked his brain, trying to think of any way to help his beloved demon. Even if it was just for a little longer. He had so much he had left to say. _He never told Tweek that he loved him, after all_.

Craig thought about all the things Tweek had taught him about demons. A drop of blood fell from his lip and onto Tweek's forehead, which he quickly wiped away with a thumb. His eyes widened as he was hit with an idea.

The youth pastor quickly pulled down the sleeve of his shirt and offered it to Tweek. "Here..! Please..!"

"W-Wha..?" he croaked.

"Drink..!"

"C-Craig.. no... you'll.. go to.. hell..."

"I don't fucking care, I'm probably already going there..! Besides, without you around, I'm basically going to be there already..! So just.. fucking... drink.. please..." He pushed his arm closer to the demon's mouth. Tweek could barely move, his breathing becoming way too ragged. He was about to die. Craig watched in dismay as his eyes begun to roll into the back of his head. "Please..!" The demon let out a breath and remained still after that.

_Too late._ The thought echoed in Craig's mind as he watched Tweek's body go limp. "No, no... please..." he mumbled as despair began to consume him. _Was this really the end?_


	25. Chapter 25

In what felt like a reflex movement, Craig took Tweek's hand. Using his sharp nails, he sliced open his wrist. The blood came dripping out steadily but he could barely even feel the pain. All he cared about was Tweek. He rolled the demon onto his back and pressed his bleeding wound against his mouth, which was slightly agape from him struggling to breathe. He found himself praying to not only god, but satan as well. He prayed to all the higher powers he knew in the hopes one would answer and save his demon. It didn't matter who, as long as Tweek would be okay.

What he was doing right now would likely land him in hell, but he didn't care at all. Surely God would forgive him, given the circumstances. Time seemed to drag on so slowly as he searched for any sign of life from the imp as he let the blood drip down his throat. Is this how Tweek had felt that night he collapsed during the snow storm? The thought was like a thorn in his bleeding heart.

"Please... please come back to me, Tweek..."

_Silence_.

His throat closed up as time ticked on without any sign of life from Tweek. He felt a soul crushing weight begin to develop in his chest. Deep down, he was beginning to grasp the fact that Tweek was done for. Life didn't usually have fairytale endings where everyone would be okay in the end. But he didn't want to give up either. He gently removed his wrist and wiped the blood away from his mouth as he pondered what his next action would be. If it was his last moments with his beloved demon, he wanted to do something he wouldn't get the chance to ever again.

Leaning down, he lightly pressed his lips against Tweek's. It made his heart feel warm, but it also ached with the thought that he'd never get a real one from him. His first and his last. Quite bittersweet.

"I promise... I'll give you all the coffee and head pats you want..." he mumbled desperately after leaning away and collecting his thoughts. "All the sweets and even the comforter too... so please.. come back..."

"...Promise...?" came a quiet reply.

Craig's eyes widened as he looked down at the demon once more. One of Tweek's eyes was cracked open just slightly, looking up at him.

"T...Tweek...?" the youth pastor echoed, rubbing his eyes to make sure they were not deceiving him. Surely he was being tricked. He must be hallucinating from all the pain and potential head trauma.

"Mn..." Tweek grunted weakly. "Here..."

"You're.. alive.. holy shit..." He couldn't hold back his tears of pure joy as he watched the imp begin to breathe once more. "Yes, I promise with all my fucking heart, Tweek." He pressed his wrist close to his mouth like he had done before. "Please... drink more.. as much as you need.."

"C-Craig..."

"Hm..?"

"Is it... really okay..?"

"Yes. Just don't kill me. We need to both make it out of here." He gave the demon a reassuring smile.

The demon gave a weak smile in return before pressing Craig's wrist against his mouth. He could feel Tweek's pointed tongue delicately lap up the blood as he sucked on the gash. The sensation stung like a bitch, but Craig's skin also tingled from it. He watched as Tweek went from weakly licking the wound to sloppily gorging himself. He kept looking up at Craig, as if making sure it was still okay to which Craig would keep smiling down at him. He reached up his free hand and began petting him and whispering comforting things to him as the imp leeched off of his arm like, well, a leech.

Craig found himself growing rather dizzy when Tweek finally detached himself. The whole area around his wound was bruised and there were teeth marks, but he didn't mind at all. The demon wiped off the bloody drool that had accumulated and smiled up at the pastor. Craig watched as he licked his lips and his teeth free of blood. The taboo made his heart race a little as he was reminded of the fact that Tweek was, in fact, a monster from hell that was supposed to bring suffering and damnation. A physical embodiment of sin to which he had just given his own blood to and saved the life of.

"How're you feeling..?"

"You saved me... thank you, Craig... thank you..."

"I said I wasn't going to let you die, dummy. I meant it." He was amazed at how quickly Tweek's wounds were healing; the demon was soon able to sit up as the gaping hole in his stomach closed up. "My blood did all that..?" he questioned in bewilderment. Tweek had told him that human blood was a good source of demonic energy and made them strong, but he couldn't have imagined how large the impact could be. He had drunken a lot, after all.

"Yes.. ah.." He licked his lips. "It was so good..."

"...Well, I guess I wouldn't mind sharing some more in the future... if you like it that much..."

"Craig... gosh..." He gently wrapped his arms around the pastor, pressing his body against his in a gentle hug. "You mean it..?"

"Sure. Already did it once, there's no going back now. In return you'll just have to stay by my side, okay?" Craig returned the hug happily, careful not to squeeze him too hard as he was still recovering from his injuries.

"With pleasure..." Tweek quietly hummed.

The pastor relished in the familiar feeling of Tweek in his arms. He'd craved it desperately ever since Tweek had disappeared. It was strange how even in a situation like this, where even though they were locked up god knows where and were battered and bruised beyond belief, being together made Craig feel like everything was going to be okay.

"Is the blood making you feel any better? I hope your pain is lessening.."

"Much better... I can feel the blood coursing through my body... it's so warm.."

"Have you ever had human blood before?"

"Yes, but... yours is special... so potent.. I've never had anything like this..."

"I see..." He didn't really know what the hell Tweek meant, but that was a question for another time. There were much more important issues at hand. "Are you good enough to walk..?"

"I think so..."

"Then we should get out of here."

Tweek nodded and hesitantly stood up, trying to find balance before looking down at Craig with concern as he struggled to stand. He could put no weight on his broken foot and the other one hurt like a bitch to stand on due to its injuries.

"Shit... I don't have regenerative powers like a demon. My feet are out of commission for a while.."

"Agh, let me help..." Tweek gently guided him to his feet, letting him put an arm around his shoulder to support him as he hobbled around on one leg.

"Thank you..."

-

  
The two began searching for a way out. They were in some kind of room that looked unfinished, as the brick foundation of the walls was still visible and the floor was only concrete.

"So... what happened to you, Tweek..? How'd you end up here..?"

"After you left, he broke in and we fought. He's much more powerful than I, so I lost, agh... then he took me here... locked me up, interrogated me... hurt me... a lot..."

"Who is 'he?'"

"You saw him, didn't you? He put you in here..."

"Father... Dixon...?"

"Ah, that was his name... well, the name of the human vessel... but yes..."

"Vessel? Wait.. he's possessed..?"

"Yes, by a very powerful demon."

"Wait-

"Powerful? Thanks for the compliment, imp. Too bad your words mean absolutely nothing coming from a disgrace like you," a gruff voice spoke out and caused Tweek and Craig to freeze.


	26. Chapter 26

"Agh..!" Tweek cried out in surprise. Standing before them on the other side of the steel door was Father Dixon, the one and only, watching them through a hole in the door where it looked like a window was supposed to go. He was eyeing them coldly, disgust evident on his face.

"Have you two no shame? Ugh..." he scoffed and shook his head. "Disgraceful... an insult to both of our kinds... regardless, mind telling me why the hell you're not dead, imp? And how did the human get out of his constraints, hm? Not that it matters, you can't escape this room anyway."

"Father Dixon..." Craig breathed.

"Hello, Craig. It's a pleasure to see you're still alive." Though what he said was kind, his voice was dripping with venom. "I assume you have a lot of questions."

"Uh.. yeah," he stammered.

"I suppose there's no harm in answering them. There's absolutely no way for you to get out of this one, no matter how keen you may be. I've already won, so I might as well kick the dog while it's down!" He let out a cruel laugh. This was not the same man Craig once knew. "What would you like to know, hm?"

"..Who are you?"

"Father Dixon."

"No. That's the name of the man you possessed. Who are you?"

"I do not have a name. I'm a demon who steals names. I become who I'm possessing."

"...How long... have you been in his body?"

"Who knows? Coulda been recently... coulda been that night in the house by the portal... coulda been long before we met..." the demon mused. "As for how, well, your lovely little pastor that you idolize so much isn't as strong and holy as you thought he was. He was weak. He selfishly sold his soul to me so that his life would be spared."

Craig grew more disturbed as more information was revealed to him. Maybe it would've been better if he hadn't known any of this. But, curiosity was both a blessing and a curse. How long had the demon been inside Father Dixon? Did it happen that night at the house? Or had he been a demon even before Craig met him and everything he knew was a lie? "...Is the real Father Dixon still in there..?"

"Sure. I'm not foolish enough to let him out though. He is such a shameful man..."

"...Fuck you," was all Craig could manage in response. He was angry and hurting. Dixon just gave a laugh in response. "Why do all this? What's your motive? What the hell do you want with Tweek and I?"

"I couldn't give two shits about that imp. But, he is a great tool I can use to manipulate you."

"The hell do you want with me?"

"It's simple, really. Take out all the pastors and religious figures in an area and it becomes prime demon territory. We won't be bound to the confines of hell forever. So many souls... then we'll spread like a plague until everything is engulfed. Prepare a big enough army... take back what should belong to Satan."

"It'll never work."

"I've already got Dixon in the palm of my hand... Father Thomas and Father Preston are already dead. You're the last one around!"

"Father Thomas and Father Preston...?"

"You really didn't know? Ha! Why do you think your church has been so crowded? You're the last beacon of hope for everyone around here. With you gone, everyone will be thrown into despair. It'll be the perfect breeding grounds for us demons. I'm honestly surprised you didn't know."

"I won't let you hurt Craig!" Tweek barked, flaring out his wings to look more intimidating.

"Try and stop me, imp. I will send you straight back to hell," Dixon threatened. "Or worse."

Craig narrowed his eyes. "Hurt Tweek and I'll send _you_ to hell so fast you won't even know what hit you, asshole."

"It's quite amusing to be threatened by a couple of caged animals. You've already lost, you fools! But, I do enjoy making deals so I'll offer you one. Craig, you're a smart man. Weigh your options carefully."

"Out with it, demon. What do you want from me?" Craig growled.

"Your soul. All you have to do is sacrifice yourself to me and I won't hurt your precious little imp. Hell, I'll even let your pastor go too! He will have to have his memory wiped though, can't have him foiling my plans after all! But, it's two souls saved for the price of one."

"No!" Tweek hissed.

"Shut it or I'll remove your tongue again. I am speaking with the human," Dixon warned, drumming his fingers against the metal door as he shifted his attention back to Craig. "So, how about it?"

"...What's the alternative..?"

"I'll kill Tweek and Father Dixon and take your body by force. You're doomed, so you might as well take the option that saves the ones you care about, no?"

"Or I can kick your ass and exorcise you out of his body." Craig cracked his knuckles and gave a sharp huff. "I know a whole lot more than I did when I last saw him."

The possessed pastor grinned and began laughing hysterically. Readjusting his glasses, he gave an amused sigh as he composed himself. "You think you can.. drive me out..! That's adorable. I own his soul, dipshit. The only one who can break our contract is me. I'm a part of him. We're inseparable, like conjoined twins almost! Kill me and you kill him too. But, good try!"

Craig gritted his teeth as his mind raced, trying to figure out what he could do. This demon had him under his thumb. He looked to Tweek who met his gaze, frustration and fear evident on his face. He couldn't let him get hurt any more. He couldn't bear it. He sighed and looked back to Dixon. "...Fine. Have it your way. Just don't hurt Tweek anymore."

"C-Craig..! No..!"

"Glad to see you've come to your senses. Let's shake on it."

"Fine. Just give me a minute to talk to Tweek."

"The imp? Whatever, just make it quick."

Craig turned to Tweek with a defeated look on his face, resting a hand in his shoulder for support to keep him standing. "I'm sorry, Tweek. If this is how I can save you, then I have to do it."

"If it means losing you... I don't _want_ to be saved," Tweek replied quietly.

Craig leaned in and wrapped his warms around the demon, pulling him in close for a tight hug. "Listen..."

"Please don't do it, Craig... We can figure this all out... You said we'd both make it out of here, after all. You promised me head pats and the comforter..." the imp whimpered as he returned the hug, clinging to his beloved pastor like his life depended on it. Well, technically it did.

Craig leaned in very close to Tweek's ear and whispered as quietly as he could, "Listen, just follow my lead. We're going to break his legs and get the hell out of here. Now act like I'm telling you something sentimental so he doesn't get suspicious..."

"A-Ah... gosh..." Tweek mumbled before giving his best attempt at acting. "But if you give yourself up... I'll never get to hear kind words like those again..."

"I'm sorry, Tweek... I'm sorry."

Dixon eyed the two in disgust. "Okay, enough of this.. display. Are we making this deal or not, Craig?"

Craig feigned a sigh and gave him a dark look. If looks could kill, as they say, Dixon would be a goner. "Yes," he grunted as he let go of Tweek and turned to face his fate. Tweek helped steady him so that he did not fall over.

"Splendid." Dixon snapped and the lock on the door made a clicking noise. "Come now, you must sign your name on a contract."

Craig grumbled as he pushed his way out of the room with Tweek at his side. The possessed pastor led them back down the hallway and into a room that was empty aside from a desk and two chairs. "This was an office for one of the big wigs back when this factory was in service, wouldn't you know?" He sat at the desk and with the snap of a finger, a piece of paper came into existence from a flame in his hand. He set it down and slid it across the desk before folding his arms. "You'll need to sign that in blood."

"Of fucking course I do," Craig grumbled, shuffling over to the desk with Tweek in tow.

"Y-You don't have to do this, Craig..." Tweek mumbled, trying his best to keep up their act.

"If it'll save you, I'll do it." He looked over to Dixon, who was giving them a smug grin from his seat at the desk. "You will not hurt him. Do you fucking understand?"

"Demons do not break promises, Craig. You should know that. Now hurry up, my patience is wearing thin," the possessed pastor insisted, drumming his fingers on the desk.

Craig narrowed his eyes. Dixon was sitting down, which threw a wrench in his plan to try and break his legs. He couldn't communicate with Tweek about what to do either since their target was only a few feet away. He was going to have to do something on his own.

The raven-haired youth pastor sat down across from the dark entity that had taken possession of Dixon and gave him a cold look. "Let's just get this done."

"Brilliant." He took a small blade out and set it down next to the paper. "Just a cut on the finger will do."

Craig studied the small blade for a moment before taking it in his hand. He made the motion of putting it near his fingertip, but before he could actually cut himself, he shot the knife forward and stabbed it through Dixon's hand and into the desk. He let out a shriek as Craig quickly stood up, turning to Tweek. "Let's get the hell out of here!"

"Agh...! Craig, you can't run..!" Tweek exclaimed.

_Fuck_. He had forgotten that part. He shook his head, trying to shoo Tweek out of the room. "Just go!"

"I'll carry you, just-

"Oh no you don't," came a deep, sinister growl that caused the both of their heads to turn back towards the desk. "I'm going to slaughter you both like the animals that were slaughtered here." They watched as Dixon ripped the knife out of his hand. His body begun to contort, horns sprouting from his head. His teeth grew sharp and claws shot out of his fingers. The frame of the older man grew much more muscular, beginning to tear holes in the pastor uniform he was wearing.

Tweek shot forward and scooped up Craig in his arms. It was difficult for him since he was bigger than he was, but he was determined to get the hell out of there. He began to break out into a sprint to exit the room just as Dixon let out a monstrous, bellowing screech and climbed on top of the desk, lunging at the imp with his hooked claws outstretched and the full intent to kill burning in his dark eyes.


	27. Chapter 27

Tweek skittered out of the room, his hooves scraping on the floor as he tried to scramble away from Dixon with Craig in his arms. He let out a sharp cry as the possessed pastor missed clawing him, but grabbed his wiry tail and yanked him back towards him. This caused the imp to drop Craig as he lost his balance, falling forward onto his stomach. Tweek whirled around and began kicking at the hand grabbing onto his tail with his rock hard hooves in an attempt to free himself of his peruser's grasp as he was dragged closer and closer towards the furious death that targeted the two.

Meanwhile, Craig had hit the ground very hard when Tweek dropped him. So much so, it had knocked the wind out of him. He sat up, trying to figure out what to do in his disoriented haze as he wheezed and gasped for air. He knew it was a death wish, but he couldn't sit there while Tweek was in trouble so he dragged himself over towards the two demons. He swung a punch, his fist connecting with the jaw of Dixon which caused him to lessen his grip on Tweek's tail just enough for Tweek to kick his hand off and recoil away from him. Craig felt a searing pain in his hand as bone hit bone, but he packed a quite brutal punch that could knock a normal human off their feet.

"Why you little..!" Dixon hissed, swiping at Craig with his talon-like claws. The movement was so quick that the youth pastor had no time to react before the nails raked across his face, slicing deep into his cheek and sending him to the ground.

Tweek let out a screech and launched himself at the demon like an angry cat, latching onto his side and scratching at his eyes with his sharp nails. He was spewing out a string of curses, some in English and others in what sounded to be Latin. Dixon contorted around to try and fight back against the furious imp, taking away his attention from Craig.

Tweek lowered his head and rammed it against the pastor, driving one of his horns directly into his left eye. Dixon let out a twisted howl as the eye was completely obliterated, sending blood, eye fluid and eyeball mush pouring out of the newly emptied eye socket. The imp felt bad about harming Craig's pastor, but there wasn't much else he could do. It was life or death now. Each time Craig was hurt trying to protect Tweek just only made him more furious. His hair was on end as his spaded tail lashed back and forth. He had a feral glint in his eyes as he curled back his lips in a snarl. "I'll take the other one out too if you don't leave us the fuck alone," the blonde demon growled.

Dixon clutched at his eye socket with one hand as he writhed in pain. With his other hand he grabbed Tweek by the throat and ripped him off his body in one swift movement. Holding him up to look him in the eyes, he began to slowly crush his wind pipe. Tweek let out a gurgled hiss as he flailed his limbs around in an attempt to break free. "Where I'm about to send you... you're going to wish you were back in hell, imp," Dixon growled. Tears threatened to fall from the smaller demon's eyes as he choked, drool beginning to drip out of his mouth as he struggled to breathe.

Tweek could feel the strength leaving his body and his eyes begun to roll back into his head when Dixon suddenly wound his arm back and then threw Tweek, slamming him face first into the concrete wall. There was a splatter of blood and multiple cracking noises as his body slid down and hit the ground with a thud. He was not dead, however. He laid there struggling for air with severe damages to his head and face. "C-Craig..." he managed to gasp out.

Dixon turned his attention back to the youth pastor, who was still on the ground and clutching his sliced open cheek. "Anyway..." he grumbled, looming over Craig with a sadistic grin on his face. "This could've been so much simpler if you had just cooperated, Craig. Now look at the both of you... pitiful."

Craig glared up at him. "Fuck you," he spat. "I'll never give in to you."

"I'm sure you won't. You're a fool. But, whether you give up now or not is of no importance to me. I'm going to kill you and your stupid little imp anyways. I want to watch the life leave your eyes." He held up an outstretched hand, looking like he was about to strike.

"You need me alive, remember? You want to ruin your plan?" Craig argued, trying to stall for time as he contemplated what to do next. This demon was too strong for them in their state of injury. Was this really it? The end of the line?

"No, I don't. I can possess your corpse no problem. I would've just preferred your soul in it to feed off of and keep the vessel alive for much longer. But it's no matter, I did not plan on making you a permanent vessel anyways. All I need is your identity for a small amount of time." He narrowed his remaining eye, giving Craig a look full of nothing but pure hatred. It made his skin crawl. "Now I'm going to make sure you die as slowly and painfully as possible since you wanted to cause me so much trouble. Your imp can watch before I do the same to him next!" With that, he brought his claws down and plunged them into Craig's abdomen.

The youth pastor let out a silent wail as the blade-like claws carved into him, slicing down until he was gutted open like a fish. The world around him seemed to vanish as the pain hit him. It was unimaginable. Nothing else was real except for the pain. He couldn't move or speak, let alone think. He was trapped. In that moment, he almost welcomed death. The demon looming over him sneered, relishing in watching the pastor suffer beneath him. He grinned as he stabbed a claw into the wound, jamming it up until he pierced one of Craig's lungs. He let out a gurgled cry as he struggled to breathe.

Tweek also let out a cry, trying his best to get to his feet to get Dixon away from Craig but the impact left him barely able to stay conscious. He definitely was concussed, his skull likely fractured as well. He was probably only conscious through sheer determination. With his last amount of energy, he stumbled to his feet and summoned his trident. "...Hey...! Forget... about me..?!" he called. Dixon turned to look at Tweek to give him some sort of snide reply but was immediately met with Tweek launching his trident at him with every inch of his being. It skewered Dixon, shooting through his stomach like it was a piece of paper and pinned him to the wall. He let out a roar as he struggled to try to pull it out, but was beginning to lose his strength due to all the damage done to his body.

Tweek scrambled over and pulled Craig's body away from Dixon as best as he could manage before his legs gave out and he was forced to sit. He desperately looked over the youth pastor, fear and despair flooding his body as he saw the extent of the damage on Craig. Humans couldn't drink blood and regenerate their wounds like he could. Their lives were much more fragile. "C-Craig..." he whimpered.

"Tweek..." the black haired man wheezed, bloody drool beginning to drip out of his mouth. "I'm... sorry..."

"Why the hell, agh, are you apologizing?!"

"You know.. I'm toast... I'm sorry.. I'll have to break that... promise..." He reached out and weakly cupped Tweek's chin in his hand. The demon was crying as he watched helplessly.

"M-Maybe I can burn some of this shut... and get you to a hospital..." He reached down and began trying to push the hole together to burn it shut, causing Craig to stiffen up and let out a sharp cry of pain. Tweek quickly pulled his hands away, more tears falling from his eyes. "Shit..! I'm s-sorry..! I'm so sorry...! I just..!"

Craig weakly shook his head. "I know..."

Dixon pulled the trident out of his stomach and fell to the ground before angrily getting to his feet. "You two are really beginning to piss me off... I'm done playing around now."

"Come any closer and I will burn everyone in this room so badly you'll have nothing left to make a vessel," Tweek growled.

"Wha..?" Craig croaked.

"Most demons have a built in last defense. Basically, since imps are disposable, w-we can sacrifice ourselves.. like a kamikaze pilot... and our bodies as the planes..." he explained. Craig had taught him basic history, including World War Two. He looked back to Dixon. "So don't move..! You know I'll do it." He narrowed his eyes. "I have nothing else to lose. I'll take you down with me." Tweek's tone was dark and serious. It was so out of character, it even frightened Craig who was lying on the ground with his guts exposed and bleeding out.

"...Fuck you," Dixon growled. Tweek had stumped him. It was obvious he was not used to being outsmarted, especially from someone he thought so lowly of. He was furious, but could do nothing.

Tweek turned his attention back to Craig and held his hand gently. He was shaking like a leaf. Like Dixon, he couldn't think of what to do. "Thank you for... everything, Craig... thank you."

"...Same here... Tweek..." He gave him a small smile before he rested his head down. His strength was gone. Tweek felt his body begin to relax, the hand that cupped his chin dropping limply to his side. "Be good, now... you're free."

"Free..?" the imp echoed. What did Craig mean by that?


	28. Chapter 28

"Free..? What do you... oh." Craig likely had meant Tweek had no one to hold him down anymore. He could do whatever he wanted. But, what he wanted was to be with his pastor. "No, Craig... please..."

"I gotta... go visit Stripe... all the Stripes... and my sister..." he mumbled. "I'll tell.. them all about you..."

"Craig..."

"I.. I wanted to... live the rest... of my life with you..." the dying man wheezed. "I guess... I did." A few tears fell from his eyes, rolling down his bruised cheeks. "I just wish... it coulda been a little longer... you know..? Fuck... well, anyway... feel free to... drink as much blood as you like... I want you to have it when I'm gone.."

Tweek was in disbelief. Craig couldn't die. He just couldn't. "Stop talking like that... please..."

"Tweek, I..." he begun to wheeze, but stopped as he begun to choke on his own blood.

"No..! Craig..!" the imp wailed. "You're the one who made me free...." he whimpered, hanging his head down low. "Think, Tweek... you're a demon for crying out loud...! There's got to be something you can do...!" He wracked his brain for anything that could help. Even if it didn't save Craig, just a little more time with him would be better. He sat up, looking down at the pastor when an idea hit him. "I'm.. a demon. Oh my Satan. I'm a demon..!" He quickly rested a hand on Craig's chest and began mumbling something in Latin.

He dabbed his fingers in the pool of blood that was beginning to form around the pastor's body. Using it, Tweek started drawing a large circle around them, along with a few other, smaller sigils. He knew a thing or two about sigils despite not being allowed to use their power, as he'd observed many other higher class demons use them over the years and had taken note.

"The hell do you think you're doing, imp?!" Dixon growled.

"Stay out of this or I'll kill you!" Tweek hissed back. He lashed his tail in anger as he turned his attention back to Craig, who had closed his eyes and was barely breathing. "Fuck, fuck, fuck..! Just hold on a little longer..! I need some sort of artifact, or something..!" The demon's eyes looked over Craig hastily when something shiny caught his eye: the cross pendant around the pastor's neck. It would be quite ironic to do what he was about to do with it, but he didn't have time to be picky, nor did he care at all at the moment. He reached up his free hand and bit it, causing it to bleed almost instantly. Using the blood, he let a few drops fall on the pendant.

Tweek uttered a few more words in Latin, then looked to Craig's face. "Say 'yes'!" he ordered frantically.

"What..re you... doing...?" the pastor wheezed, his voice barely above that of a raspy whisper.

"Just do it, god damn it!" the demon insisted.

Craig opened his mouth to speak, but all Tweek heard was a quiet breath before the tension seemed to leave his tattered body and he grew still.

"No, no... no...! Please..!" the blonde haired imp whimpered, placing his hand on Craig's chest to feel for a pulse like he had done that night in the church. His hands were shaking too much to tell if his heart was beating, however. Next he tried leaning in close, hovering his ear over Craig's mouth to listen for breathing. All was silent, except for the pounding of his own heart and a scoff that came from Dixon which made his blood boil. Tweek felt the flood gates open in his eyes and he begun crying. "We were so close, Craig... so close..."

Turning his head, he gazed down at the pale face of his treasured human companion. He could barely see anymore due to the tears, so he just closed his eyes and leaned down to rest his forehead against Craig's. His skin felt cold against his.

Tweek began to sob, gripping onto Craig's uniform like he would never let go. "I'm so sorry, Craig..." He paused to sniffle and let out a shaky whimper before continuing, "just a few more seconds and I could've saved you..." He bit his lip to hold back a particularly loud sob, but it only made him more upset.

"This is what you deserve, imp. Betraying your kind... your creator.. for a pathetic pastor," Dixon growled. "It was inevitable that he would die anyway. I'll make sure you join him, though."

"God fucking damn it, shut up..!" Tweek wailed as he lifted his head. The imp let out another string of curses to blow off steam, his rage quickly burning out to be replaced with grief. He looked down at Craig once more, gently cupping his cheek in his hand. "I love you, Craig..." he finally mumbled. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you when you could've heard it..." With that he closed his eyes, trying his best to collect himself so he could kill Dixon and himself and end everything once and for all. He had lost everything else thanks to that demon and so he would gladly sacrifice himself to take him down.

Quite suddenly, however, Tweek's thoughts were interrupted when he felt something grip the sleeve of his shirt.


	29. Chapter 29

Flicking his eyes open, Tweek's heart skipped a beat when he saw Craig's hand lightly gripping his shirt sleeve. He looked over to the pastor's face, a flame of hope sparking inside him. "C-Craig..?"

The cross pendant around his neck began to glow a light blue color. Before Tweek had time to even react, a chain of the same hue phased into existence, sprouting from the cross and entering Craig's chest. The spot where his heart was begun to glow as well. The imp watched in amazement as the chain then wrapped itself around the pastor's body like a snake around its prey, healing his wounds before shooting over and connecting to Tweek's wrist. A surge of energy shot through the demon upon contact, the likes of which he had never felt before. His body was trembling, likely it was barely able to handle it. The chain then faded away before Tweek's eyes like it had never existed at all.

A soft sigh came from Craig and his grip on Tweek's sleeve strengthened.

"Oh my Satan... oh my God... whichever...!" Tweek exclaimed as he lightly gripped Craig's hand. "You're alive..!"

"...Fuuuuck..." Craig groaned as he seemed to reanimate like a zombie. "Feels like I died..."

"Well... you kinda.. did..? I think..? But..! You're back..! How are you back? You never said 'yes'..?" Tweek rambled. His mind was going a million miles an hour and his mouth couldn't keep up.

"No, I did. With my last breath."

Tweek recalled that quiet noise Craig had made before going still. _It had been a yes, just too quiet for him to hear. A yes nonetheless._ The demon grinned in delight, tears of joy threatening to leave his eyes as he hugged Craig's arm. "I t-thought I lost you... I really did..."

"Yeah, well.. I'm stubborn like that. Can't get rid of me that easily," Craig chuckled, sitting up to look at his demon. "You saved me again. I'm not sure what the hell you did this time, but... thank you."

"I-I'll explain everything later, let's get the hell out of here first-

"Fucking disgraceful. I cannot believe I had to witness all this..." Dixon spat, interrupting their reunion. "But, your little display gave me time to recover, so thank you. Now this time I'll make sure to take you both down." The demonic entity grinned and flexed his claws, giving the boys no time to respond as he immediately lunged for them.

Craig sprung up, sharply swinging his fist in the direction of their attacker. He managed to get a good hit in, slugging Dixon right in the jaw. Dixon grabbed him by the collar and threw him aside like he was nothing. "I'll deal with you after I kill the disgrace to our kind! He won't be able to save you then," he growled.

"Don't... touch... my... Craig..!" Tweek shrieked, launching himself at Dixon with an almost feral ferocity. He summoned his trident, skewering him through the stomach and shoving him upwards into the air. The demon let out a gurgled hiss as his weight brought him sliding deeper into the prongs of the pitchfork. Black blood leaked from the puncture wounds, trickling down the pitch fork. Tweek seemed to be holding him up with little effort. "Sorry, Dixon. I'm sure you were a good guy but I can't save you." He prepared to land the final blow, but Dixon sunk low enough to be able to kick him, causing him to stumble back and drop the trident.

"Damn you..." the possessed pastor hissed as he got to his feet. He pulled out the trident and threw it to the ground, a clang emanating from the impact and echoing throughout the hall. Tweek scrambled to his feet and launched himself at him once more. Dixon tried to dodge but Tweek grabbed him by the arm, flinging him upwards and slamming him to the ground with a sharp thud. He reached down and grabbed Dixon by his throat, holding him up as he glared at him.

"If you ever think about fucking with me or my family ever again, I will kill you so bad not even Satan will be able to bring you back. Speaking of... say hi to him for me, will you?" Tweek growled.

"I will.. have his soul.. just you wait..." Dixon wheezed, his feet dangling helplessly as he tried to claw Tweek's fingers off his throat.

"Yeah, I don't think so!" Tweek scoffed. "I'd say 'see you in hell', but I won't be. This is for everything you've fucking done to us..!" With that, he slammed Dixon down on the ground once more, raising his hoof and stomping on his face. He heard a crunch and a sharp howl of pain, but did not stop. He repeatedly stomped down on the monster's face, causing blood to spurt and splatter around him. "Fuck..! You...!"

"Tweek..!" Craig shouted, a little disturbed by the imp's brutal attack. His words did not seem to reach him though as the imp kept stomping Dixon's face in. The pastor grimaced and cautiously approached him. "That's enough, Tweek... c'mon..." He lightly rested a hand on Tweek's shoulder, which caused the demon to whip his head around to face him. His eyes were full of pure anger, his lips pulled back in a snarl which showed off all his sharp teeth. Craig stepped back a little, quite startled. "Hey... you got him, it's okay... I'm fine, see..?"

Tweek blinked, the rage leaving his eyes. "A-Ah... oh gosh... sorry... I kinda... lost myself for a moment there..." he mumbled, giving Craig an apologetic look. There was a bit of fear in the pastor's eyes which hurt his heart a little. He looked down at his hoof, which was planted directly into Dixon's caved in skull. He gently lifted it, giving a soft sigh as he looked at the damage. He'd turned his face into a bloody pulp, almost soupy looking. He shook his foot a little, sending bits of blood and brain matter flying. "Agh..."

"Are you alright..?"

"Yes... sorry for scaring you... but he did kill you. I wasn't going to let him live... I couldn't. I'm sorry I couldn't save your pastor..."

"Well... to be honest, if he was willing to sell his soul to a demon, he must not have been the best person. Certainly not the best pastor." He sighed and looked down at the body. "At least I have closure."

"...Is it okay if I dispose of it..? I don't want that demon coming back..."

"Do whatever needs to be done."

Tweek nodded. Picking up his pitch fork, he made it ignite. Using it, he set the corpse on fire before stepping back to stand beside Craig. The two watched him burn for a moment before Craig turned to Tweek. "Hey. Let's go home. I don't really want to look at this..."

The imp smiled and nodded. "Yes please..."

The two exited the hallway, heading back up the staircase and out of the factory. Craig took in a deep breath of the fresh night air and sighed contently. "We made it."

"Thank you for coming to save me... if you hadn't, I would still be locked in that basement... probably dead." Tweek put his hand over his heart. "I can't believe you died for me..."

"Well, I told you. Humans do stupid things for the people they care about. Besides, you saved my life. Speaking of, how the hell am I not dead?"

"Ah, well..." Tweek mumbled. "Just so you know.. I... I did it to save your life, alright..? I promise that's the only reason... but if you.. don't want to be around me anymore because of what I did, I understand..."

"What did you do..?" Craig questioned, growing a bit worried by Tweek's reaction to the question.


	30. Chapter 30

"I had you... s-sell your soul to me so I could save your life. I'm sorry..." Tweek looked over at Craig, expecting to see him grow upset.

"Oh, is that all?" he asked nonchalantly.

"W-Wha..?"

"You practically already had it." The pastor shrugged.

"But I wanted your heart, not your soul..." Tweek huffed, barely audible so Craig couldn't hear him.

"Well, you already had that too."

"You heard that..?!" the imp squawked.

"You're right next to me. Of course I did." Craig smirked and looked up at the night sky.

"Agh..! What do you mean by that t-then...?"

"You've had it for a while, Tweek. By the way.. I, uh..." Craig paused to clear his throat, his heart pounding. "I love you too."

"You heard _that_ too...?! Oh god..!" Tweek whined, covering his face. "I thought you were dead when I said that..." he whimpered. "I'm embarrassed now..." He blinked looking back up at Craig. "W-Wait... _what_?!"

"Don't make me say it again, you dumb imp.. god..." Craig grumbled, his cheeks growing flushed.

"A-Ah... but do you mean... in... that way..?"

"Duh..!" he huffed. "My heart is not a freebie though. You... you better give me yours in return."

"It's yours, Craig." Tweek gave a small smile as his heart fluttered in delight. "It's been yours."

"Good."

 

They made it to the car, Craig practically collapsing into the driver's seat.

"Are you able to drive..?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little overwhelmed," he sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Haha.. me too."

"So. What does you having my soul entail..?"

"W-Well... it means we're together forever, so... I'm glad you like me, haha.."

"Ah. Am I a demon now..?"

"No, no. And actually, I guess I could technically break the contract... but I'm not sure what would happen to you."

"Eh. Even if you could, I wouldn't ask you to."

"Really..?"

"Yeah. But in return for my soul, I want you to promise me something."

"W-What..?"

"Stay by my side, alright?"

"Even if I didn't promise that, I still would stick around... but, I promise." He gave a light laugh as he felt quite warm inside.

"Good. Let's head on home now. I'm very fucking tired."

"I would imagine..."

 


	31. Chapter 31

The drive home was silent for a time before Craig spoke up.

"So what does having my soul do for you?" he asked. "You beat the hell out of Dixon after you got it."

"Well, I'm a lot stronger... I can use magic and stuff it seems... but honestly, I'm not quite, ah, sure... imps don't get to claim souls... so I don't know what I'm capable of now."

"Ah. Well, we'll have to test it out sometime."

"Really?"

"Why wouldn't we?"

"Ah, I'm just not used to this stuff." He wagged his his tail. "I'm excited for that, then."

"Me too."

 

Craig pulled into the driveway, letting out a relieved sigh. "Finally... we're home." 

"I never thought I'd be here again..." Tweek admitted. "Ah.."

Craig gave him a sympathetic look. "No one's gonna take you away from me a second time. They'll have to go through me."

"I'll kick their butts before they could even lay a finger on you!" Tweek assured him. "I'm an imp with a soul contract to his name now!"

"Hah, is that so?" Craig hummed, quirking a brow at him.

"Mmhm."

"My knight in shining... horns." He chuckled and shook his head. "Alright, let's stop staring at the house and actually go inside it, yeah?"

"Right..! But, ah.. my hooves..." Tweek held up the foot he used to stomp Dixon's head in. It was crusted with blood and would make a mess on Craig's carpet.

"Wish they made shoes for imps," Craig commented. "Alright then, c'mere.” 

"Huh?"

"I'm picking you up, just like the time where you got mud all over yourself." Before Tweek could respond, Craig scooped him up into his arms. "I may like you but that doesn't give you permission to ruin my carpet. I literally had to get it replaced after the.. incident. Ahem. Anyway." He cleared his throat and began heading up the sidewalk to the front door.

"Ah!" Tweek exclaimed in surprise upon being picked up.

"This is a serious déjà vu moment." He bent down to open the front door, grimacing when he realized he left it unlocked in his tired panic to go rescue Tweek. "Well shit, hope no one tried to rob me tonight. Forgot to lock it."

"I don't sense anyone inside."

"You can do that?"

"Well, I can tell if there's souls around. None in your house."

"Seems like I've got the best security system money can buy. Imp. He protect... he attack..."

"He also snack..!" Tweek added.

"You got the meme this time. Good job, hah." Craig chuckled and pushed open the front door, carrying Tweek inside who was beaming from the praise. 

 

The familiar scent and ambiance of the house made the both of them relax almost instantly. Craig carried the demon through the living room and into his room, then to the bathroom where he set him down on the edge of the bathtub.

"There you go. Now you can wash that blood off your feet." He looked over Tweek and then himself. "Looks like I'll need to do the laundry too. If this blood doesn't come out of my uniform that'll fucking suck. Can't go to church looking like I murdered someone and all."

"Yeah, that might be a little startling..." Tweek agreed as he unbuttoned his shirt and pulled his wings through the slits in the back. He then took it off and gently placed it in Craig's hand, which the pastor was holding out.

"I'll go get that started while you wash up then." He couldn't help but observe the imp's body for a moment when he noticed something. "Hey, what's that little mark you have on your chest?"

"Huh? Mark?" Tweek tried to look down to see what Craig was talking about. He could make out something dark, but it was too high up on his chest for him to be able to see properly. "What is that..? I can't see..."

"Hold on." Craig shuffled over, slinging Tweek's bloodied shirt over his shoulder before rifling around one of the drawers under the bathroom sink. Picking up a mirror, he presented it to the blonde haired demon. Tweek held it out and stared at his reflection. 

"...Geez, it sure has been a while since I've seen myself..." 

"Do you look different from the last time?"

"A bit, yeah."

"How so?"

"...I look happy. Alive. I think that's thanks to you." Tweek smiled and turned his attention to the mark on his chest while the comment made Craig blush a little. It was some kind of symbol that looked almost like a tattoo. "No way..."

"Do you know what it is?" 

"It's _my_ sigil. I have a sigil..!" the imp replied excitedly. "It must be because I own your soul now."

"Oh? What's that mean?"

"It's like, an identifying thing I think..? This mark means like, 'property of Tweek' or just 'Tweek', you know? Use this sigil in a summoning circle and you can summon me. Agh, this is so cool..!"

"So in theory, I could summon you whenever I wanted?"

"I mean, yes, but... are you going somewhere far away enough without me to make it worth using..? It needs blood and stuff..." The demon looked a little upset at the concept of Craig being far away.

"Oh, yeah, that's true. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I did say you had to stick by my side, did I not? But, you know, in an emergency that might be useful." 

"Ah, I suppose... I'll teach you how to do it then sometime."

"Cool. Well, let me go get these clothes in the washing machine. I do not want them to become permanent stains." He patted Tweek's head. "Be back in a sec."

"Alright..!" Tweek watched as Craig exited the room before turning his attention to cleaning the blood off his hooves and fur.


	32. Chapter 32

Meanwhile, Craig shuffled over to the laundry room where he gently tossed in Tweek's shirt. He then took off his uniform. His suit, undershirt, and pants were splattered with blood. His undershirt was absolutely trashed, as it was ripped to shreds when Dixon sliced his abdomen open with his claws. Tweek's shirt wasn't in the best condition either. Hopefully he could fix it for him, as it was a prized possession for the demon. Thankfully though, Craig's pants and suit jacket were left unharmed. His undershirt was replaceable but replacing those would be a little more expensive.

Tossing his clothes into the wash, he went to grab some clothing to put on from his basket of clean laundry he was too lazy to put away, but paused to look over his body. His wounds had vanished as if he had never had them, though the pain still haunted him like a ghost. Craig felt lucky to have had Tweek there to save him, otherwise he likely would've suffered the same fate as Father Thomas and Father Preston, or became a vessel of evil. Lightly feeling his chest with the pads of his fingers where his tattoo was, he thought about the mark on Tweek's chest. His sigil, as he called it. Looking over to the mirror that hung on the laundry room door, he found himself slightly disappointed that he didn't get a mark like Tweek's. Maybe it was only a demon thing. He did still have his moon tattoo though, which made him sigh as he thought of his deceased younger sister. _I kicked some major demon ass tonight. Hope you're proud of me, Tricia. But you know, there are good demons too. Well, at least one. Wish you coulda met him. Take care of all the Stripes for me._

Craig shook his head and snapped himself out of his thoughts. He lazily slid on a pair of baggy pajama pants that had stars patterned on them. Finding no good shirts, he headed off back to his room to grab one he'd actually bothered to put away.

He decided to check in on Tweek who was still in the bathroom. "How goes it?"

"I didn't realize how much blood got on me since my fur is red, agh... I think I got it all though." He looked up to smile at Craig but was caught off guard by the fact he was shirtless. His tail curled up as his heart beat a little faster. Craig was always either in baggy clothes, a coat, or his pastor uniform which hid his lean, but well toned body. Tweek almost found himself a bit embarrassed since his body was thin and frail looking.

Craig quirked a brow, noticing the change in Tweek's behavior. "Everything okay?"

"Ah, y-yeah, I'm just... uh.. you know.." He cleared his throat and looked away. "I'm glad that your body looks okay. No wounds or scarring or anything."

Craig snickered and took a seat beside him on the edge of the tub. "It's okay if you were checking me out, you know."

"Agh, say no more...! You're embarrassing me..!" Tweek whined.

"I'm not sorry," Craig hummed. "I wanted to ask about your little sigil thing though."

"Oh..? What about it?"

"Can you like, put it on things?"

"Well, yeah, you can draw it on anything technically."

"I mean like, can _you_ put it on someone like the one on your chest. Like a tattoo."

"Mmhm, I could, yeah. Demons don't usually do that though, anything that's theirs gets our sigil tattooed onto like, their soul. If that makes sense..."

"Oh, so my soul has your mark then?"

"Y-Yeah."

"So you kinda own me then, huh?"

"Technically speaking... yes." Tweek blinked, giving a nervous laugh. "I hadn't even thought about that.. is that weird for you?"

"Nope. I'm your Craig."

"My.. Craig?"

"All yours."

"A-Ah... wow..." The imp grew flushed in the cheeks and quickly hid his face.

"But make no mistake. Even if I can't do any soul contract shit, you're still _my_ Tweek."

"C-Craig..! Agh!" the imp whined, his tail lashing back and forth out of embarrassment.

"My Tweek!~" the youth pastor hummed, growing quite pleased that he could make Tweek so flustered.

"Ngh... yes... I am your Tweek... b-but you don't have to rile me up like this..!" Tweek huffed.

"Heheh, I don't, but it's amusing." Craig reached over and ruffled Tweek's hair lovingly. "We're each other's. But, back to the subject... your sigil."

"R-Right." Tweek lifted his head from his hands and looked back to Craig curiously.

"Well, I... was wondering if you, uh, could maybe... put your sigil on me." He pointed to a spot beside his moon tattoo on his chest. "I want one I can see."

"W-Wha..?"

"I want your mark, Tweek."

"I'm gonna faint..."

"Why's that?"

Tweek looked away, quite flustered by Craig's request. He let out a quiet whine and thumped his hooves before exclaiming, "I fucking love you..! Aaagh..! What did I do to deserve this?!"

Craig snickered and patted his back. "Didn't realize it was such a big request."

"A p-permanent mark on your body that others can see is a big deal..! Especially when that mark means 'property of Tweek' in this context..!"

"Ah, well... that's how it is." Craig shrugged. "My heart is the 'property of Tweek' after all."

"Agh..!"

"Okay, okay, I'll stop freaking you out. I do genuinely want your sigil on my chest though, Tweek."

"W-Well, I'll give it to you then..." he replied shyly, turning his body to face Craig who scooted closer.

"How does this work? Will it hurt?"

"I dunno, I've never done it..." Tweek mumbled, gently resting his hand on Craig's chest where he had indicated he wanted the demon's sigil.

"Ah, well, I basically died tonight, so... how bad can it be?"

"Are you sure you want this..?"

"Of course."

"Alright then, I, ah... here we go." Tweek seemed to focus and soon Craig felt his skin begin to tingle.

"That doesn't hurt at a- fuck..!" Craig started to say but was interrupted as the tingling quickly turned into a sharp burning sensation. It was only for a moment though, as Tweek immediately pulled his hand away.

"Are you alright..? I'm sorry..!" He gave Craig an apologetic look.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm alright... it was just sudden," he replied reassuringly.

"If you're sure..." the imp mumbled. He looked down at Craig's chest, his expression suddenly brightening. "Ah..! It's done!"

"Oh? How's it look?"

“It... looks great, Craig.” The demon gave him a soft smile, his tail wagging back and forth slowly as he admired him. “It really does.”


	33. Chapter 33

Tweek finished cleaning up while Craig got ready for bed in his room. He was so exhausted and so much had happened that evening that he couldn’t even process it all. He was looking over himself in the mirror, seeing the impact of the exhaustion clear on his face. A head of blonde hair popped up behind him, hugging him from behind which caused the pastor to smile tenderly. “Ready for bed?”

“I’m just ready to be with you again,” Tweek admitted quietly. “My Craig...”

Craig let out a soft hum as he looked at the both of them in the mirror. He couldn’t help but chuckle. If only his past self could see him now.

“What’s funny?” the imp inquired.

“Oh, I’m just thinking about how much things have changed. I never could’ve guessed things would end up this way.” He casted his gaze back towards the shorter boy. “I don’t regret a thing though.”

“I’m glad things turned out the way they did,” Tweek agreed. “I think I may believe in miracles now if an insignificant demon like me could be loved by someone like you...”

Craig turned around to face Tweek, his arms wrapping around the demon’s waist and pulling him close. “Don’t talk low of yourself like that. I love you because you’re you. And you’re great.” This was a tender side to Craig that he never showed until now.

Tweek smiled and looped his arms around Craig’s neck, his tail swishing back and forth happily. “I don’t know what you see in me, honestly...”

Craig shrugged as his eyes scanned over his face. “You’d understand if you were me.” He looked down to Tweek’s lips and then back up to his eyes. “Could I, uh...”

“Kiss me..?” the demon asked hopefully.

“Mmhm..”

“Yes please...”

Craig smiled and leaned in, Tweek eagerly tilting his head up to meet him. Craig’s heart felt warm as he felt the blonde imp’s lips on his own. He really loved him. He held the kiss for a moment longer before pulling away, unable to hide the goofy smile that adorned his face. “We’ll call that our first kiss.”

“It was very nice...” Tweek agreed. “I-I’ll admit though... it’s technically.. not...”

“Hm?”

“I’ve.. kissed you before, aha. It was nice to have you conscious for it, though...”

“Please elaborate, oh my god.”

“Okay, so... when you were really cold.. you weren’t breathing. So I, well, had to make you start breathing somehow.”

“You gave me mouth to mouth?”

“T-To save you! I figured you probably shouldn’t know that you’d basically kissed a demon, I don’t think you woulda responded to it well back then.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure about that. But... you saved my life, so I don’t think I could’ve been upset. Certainly not now.” He looked away, giving a small chuckle. “I uh, also kissed you.”

“Wha..?”

“When I thought you were dead back in that cell we were in. I.. I thought I’d never get the chance to ever again, so...”

“Oh, gosh... Craig...” The imp smiled, looking away shyly. “Well, you can kiss me anytime you want now...”

“Likewise.”

“I-In that case...” Tweek looked back to him meekly. “More, please...”

Craig let out a soft hum and locked lips with the boy once more. They couldn’t get enough of each other. Eventually, Craig was sitting on the edge of the bed with Tweek on his lap as they smooched all over each other, unable to contain their emotions any longer.

“God, I can’t seem to stop myself...” Craig mumbled when they parted for a moment. He let out a yawn, resting his forehead against Tweek’s. “You could keep doing this all night, couldn’t you?”

“Mmhm.. but you need to sleep!”

“Curse me and my mortal body, needing things like ‘food’ and ‘sleep’...” Craig huffed.

“Food and sleep are both nice though..”

“Okay, true.” With that, he wrapped his arms around Tweek’s waist and stood up, hoisting the lightweight demon into the air. Tweek let out a squeak and clung to Craig.

“Agh..!”

“It’s sleep time. You said so yourself~” Craig hummed affectionately as he plopped down on his side of the bed. Tweek was now laying on his chest, and he seemed to enjoy it. After getting settled, the demon rested his head down, giving a content sigh. “Comfy?” Craig asked. Tweek was very light so he could even stand on top of him and he would be fine.

“Very. I can hear your heart beating...”

“Beating for you~”

“Agh!” Tweek buried his face in Craig’s chest to hide the blush forming on his cheeks. “Why do you insist on embarrassing me?”

“‘Cause you’re just so damn cute when you’re flustered,” the pastor hummed, pulling the comforter over them and wrapping his arms around Tweek’s back. God, did it feel nice to lay there with Tweek like before. He honestly thought he’d never be able to enjoy it again. He yawned and closed his eyes, feeling sleep creeping up on him rather quickly when Tweek spoke again.

“Hey.. Craig?”

“Yeah?” the raven haired man grunted.

“You... love me?”

“Yeah, I told you that, dummy.”

“How long... have you...? I know you used to despise me...”

“When did I fall in love with you..? I... can’t say for certain. Falling in love kinda happens naturally. Slowly, over time. Creeps up on you and then one day you just happen to notice it and go, wow, I’m in love, aren’t I?”

“Ah... I feel the same way. When did you... realize?”

“Hm... I think.. it was that night in the rain when I realized you’d stolen my heart. When I looked at you while you stared out the window, watching the rain hit the glass. Though I’d probably loved you even longer, that’s just when I realized.”

“Ah.. gosh.” The demon looked away, his eyes glinting in the pale light. “I... I think I started to realize that night when the power was out and you went out in the snow just to get me a blanket... confirmed it when I tackled you while we were running out in the rain and took your hat off.”

“You totally cheated on that, by the way.”

“Nooo...”

“Heheh...” Craig hummed and relaxed again. “Well, I’m sure glad things ended up this way.”

“Me too. Say... I... think it’s about time I... told you how I became a demon.”

“Oh? Only if you’re comfortable with it, honey.”

“I.. yeah. I trust you.”

Craig opened his eyes and rubbed Tweek’s back reassuringly. “Lay it on me, then.”

“Okay... s-so. I’ll just.. start off at the beginning. I was orphaned at a very young age. I-I don’t really know why... but I was told that my parents willingly gave me up. I think.. it was because of my neurological problems... they abandoned me.”

“Fuck them. They missed out on a great son,” Craig grumbled.

“Ah.. well, anyway. So there was a sort of orphanage... I grew up there. It sucked, but I was alive. T-Then... it burned down. A lot of the kids died. I managed to get out, but... I was homeless. I lived on the streets after that... scavenged for food... stole.”

“That’s enough to send you to hell..?”

“N-No. That’s just introduction,” the demon mumbled.

“Oh, alright.” Craig gently rubbed Tweek’s back to comfort him, as it was clear that recalling these events was rather stressful.

“Continuing... I grew up that way. Living day to day, having no idea if I’d be able to eat or have a place to sleep... People looked down on me and other people like me in disgust. Like we were rats. I’ve been yelled at, shoved, kicked, spit on... I... I became very bitter because of it. I believed that everyone was bad, including myself. I had long abandoned a-any faith in God, because, like... why would he let me suffer like that..?”

“I felt the same way when I lost my sister. I’m.. sorry. I know what it feels like.”

“You chose a much more noble path than I, though...” Tweek sighed. “I’ll understand if you think lesser of me after I tell you what I did.”

“I won’t.”

“Hm.. I... don’t know if you’ll hold true to that statement... but... alright. I became so resentful of everyone around me... they could all enjoy a meal and sleep with a roof over their heads... while they looked down on me. So... I decided to get revenge. I-I became very sick, and I was starving to death... but I wanted them to pay before I died... so I... looked to Satan for answers. I summoned a demon and made a contract with them... I sold my soul over in exchange for the death of pretty much everyone in the place in which I lived. But I.. was cruel. I had a famine come. I wanted everyone to starve as I had for years. The rich ones, who had no experience not being able to have a meal on their plate.. they were the first to go. More and more people were dying as it continued. And I... relished in it. Us who had experience managed to scavenge what little there was left while others died around us... but soon... pretty much everyone was dead. There were bodies... the scent was foul...” Tweek closed his eyes, stifling a whimper. “The food ran out. The survivors turned on each other... cannibalism was... the only option. But I couldn’t.. I had hurt innocent people as the ones I resented had done to me... I grew sicker and hungrier... until I withered away and died. I regretted my actions... but it was far too late to fix it. My soul was sent to hell where I was made into a demon on account of my cruel actions, as they believed I would continue to be that way. But because of my circumstances... I was made an imp. A low level. To atone for what I had done.”

Craig was speechless. He would never have thought the demon who cuddled guinea pigs on the couch and liked to watch Disney movies while drinking copious amounts of coffee would do such a thing.

“My afterlife was spent in servitude... imps are nothing more than slaves while in hell. Torture... labor.. other deeds... that’s what imps are subjected to. But I obeyed... because I felt I deserved it. For everything that I had done. B-But then... you came along. And you.. saved me. You saw something in a monster like me...”

“Tweek...” Craig finally managed to say. His heart ached for him. For someone like him to be pushed to the point where he did all the things he’d done... he could only imagine how much suffering the imp was put through. “You’re not a monster.”

“But I.. I hurt so many people...”

“I..I know. But... it’s kinda my job to forgive people for their sins. So... by the power vested in me, I hereby absolve you of that sin.”

“T-Thank you, Craig...” Tweek mumbled. He still felt extremely guilty, but... Craig’s words did make him feel a bit better. If he could forgive him for what he’s done... surely, he wasn’t the same person he was back then. The demon seemed to relax, snuggling back into Craig’s warmth.

“Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me all this.”

Tweek gave a quiet grunt of acknowledgement as a wave of sleepiness rushed over him. He could feel his consciousness starting to fade. Craig, noticing this, ran his fingers through the messy blonde locks of hair that adorned the demon’s head affectionately. “Goodnight, Tweek,” he told him quietly.

“Goodnight...” Tweek managed to reply sluggishly before he let the night take him. Craig smiled, following in Tweek’s footsteps shortly after.


	34. Update

Hey friends! I’m sorry for not updating this fic for so long. I’ve been in a huge writers block and I’ve been extremely busy. I promise I fully intend to finish it though so thank you to those who have stuck around. Your support is very much appreciated!

This will be deleted when I post the next chapter. The actual chapter 34 is in progress right now so that’ll be posted hopefully soon!


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